Robert Kelly: 11 poems from EARISH, Thirty Poems of Paul Celan

                    
                       for Dick Higgins
                                                       in memor I am

[translator’s note.  In 2002 I was asked to contribute to Alec Finlay’s edition of translations by several hands of Paul Celan’s poem “Irisch.”  While working on my translation (which duly appeared in the second volume, Irisch (2), Edinburgh 2002), I began to work on other dimensions of the poem, then of other Celan poems.  The present homeophonic translations are one result.  By homeophonic translation I mean: listening to the sound of the [in this case German] poem until you hear it in English – the result, the poem heard, no doubt “says” a “different” thing from the “original.”  Those quoted words are all questionable, more question than answer, I mean.  So here are some of my hearings of Celan poems.  They are, in effect, translations into Earish.   A reference in italics at the end of each poem identifies those reproduced below as all coming from Celan’s book Fedensonnen here heard heading towards English.]

WILD YOU THEN NOTE SHARING FONDEST

in the view’s tongue

rune the shattered yards hounded a neighbor to rouse

and hay run thick thank him

Feel like it’s a war,

dash here the freed of twice failed curb’s rock

out tone ― go face them.

faden214

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THE STREAKER, salt’s washer, clomb

the wiser

grove’s keynote in dismal

gate and knickers off

Off the shudder see grass down even

in anchor shot and

naked as number dares

(ant’s willing)

red sail.

f186

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EARISH
Give me this vague wreck

heave her the corn’s teacher to die in his laugh

this vague wreck

heave her down laugh’s path

this wreck that his story’s taken on

on hurts hung

more gone.

f184

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THE TWISTED NINE

gone haggled to hill free

vexed

the numb unblue

sets out

the glaciermilk cart

the foal vixen again dour

thus swimming the seal

ear her unbearable un-

brandy

f96

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SPADE.  Unswam eager fetish

buys stitch the sopping fun Christ bomb,

off gay rowed fun

frost spree kin

hipped from womb shy noon neck,

day’s fence star flees off,  where sand rouses,

neat even so bring him

the hovel there sign,

I need cup lasting, a

deep unafraid walker ―

coaches art one seeks there, over

him.

f166

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DO WARS mean death

thick Kant I called them

weary of all it unfeels

f142

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DARES OUT A SHOCKED HEADED HEARSE

daring she goes feel install earring

groves shy mast forty

tiles of

milk sweaters

shovel.

f110

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ALL DYING SEAGULLS ARE BROKEN?  NAY.

Gay verse ether oak

see, the brief

haughty elf

hoofing took her:

that the well, the hornet

fern, the milk

knower, when

the mood she tours clock be awayed,

the clock be dumb mood, weed her,

that she nicked oak

then elect throne dear idiot and

speak low, the dottle

for a biter too for

many take a long dying

often.

f80

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POE KNOCKS

The unstirred bleak kite’s if a fawn-high hayrick

dame fear them in

den, she’ll gird a needle key fixed

her n’t a Leah dish

hinter seek here.

f58

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EYING A HIM HILL tempest

lock in.  Arm

enter knocked it them

or it.

The lid’s slack reflex averring

the hip begone

tomorrow’s two for

null.

f118

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EDGE LOCKED, edge locked.

When weary at semester’s veering

blond cats going we to malls

allowing gone to Paris, eye no outgone glued long

though arctic is a steer

came again sprung and

under crooned emit on his sighing horn or

under tease to his tease to.

f174