Video Find of the Day
To wrap up my feeble nod to April Poetry Month, I wanted to find a video of non-English poetry. I mean, poetry isn't all English, dudes and dudettes. I seek balance. Even if it is only token balance. Trouble is, most of the foreign-speech poetry out there is untranslated and it's really hard to find translations for it when the video doesn't even provide printed titles. So I settled for this video of Pablo Neruda reading two of his poems, because the description is detailed enough for me to find the translations.
The first poem is "Me gustas cuando callas..." which I believe literally translates as "I like it when you shut up." I found a softened translation that puts it as " I Like For You To Be Still" here. The gist of it seems to be, when you smile I know you aren't dead.
The second poem he reads is "Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche" which translates as "Tonight I can write the saddest lines" (because he has lost his lover. Maybe because he kept telling her he liked it when she shut up?) A translation for that one is here.
About Me
- Dr. Wes Browning
- I have a doctorate in Mathematics from Cornell. I am amused by this. My parents tried to kill me on my 1st birthday. Though I now can't speak it much, and though my parents never could, my first language was Hawaiian, not English. I partially credit an I'iwi for my survival. Hear one on the audio clip at my complete profile. I've been homeless a number of times, for a total of about 4 years. For some of that time I supported myself with the sale of paintings. One of my paintings was chosen for the cover of the premier issue of Real Change, see the links below. Since that first issue in 1994 I have become part of its volunteer editorial committee. I write a regular humor column for the paper, currently titled Adventures in Irony. I serve on the Real Change Board of Directors. I feed the Real Change cat Sid Vicious. Anitra Freeman and I are an item.
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