Oso - 5-21-2009 at 06:58 PM
Bilingual poetry promotes diversity
BY LUCY POPESCU
Special to The News
The Center for the Art of Translation in San Francisco has hit upon a unique program that aims to preserve the city's diverse cultures while promoting
writing and literary translation.
The nonprofit center holds poetry workshops open to students in grades two through nine, and publishes some of the best work that comes out of them.
"A Pocketful of Voices/Un bolsillo de voces," the center's latest bilingual anthology, beautifully demonstrates how the program has challenged
students to think about using language and writing creatively - as well as teaching them about vocabulary, syntax, and the rhythms of different
languages.
The students begin by describing objects using just two lines of figurative language. I particularly liked the following two-line poems produced by
fifth- and sixth-graders:
"Door" "Puerta"
Sad wood Madera triste
Angry Trees Arboles enojados
-Víctor Noriega, 5th Grade
"Hat" "Sombrero"
It hides my shadow esconde mi sombra
but not my fear pero no mi miedo
-Iván Hernández, 6th Grade,
translated by the editors
Throughout the anthology, the students' best efforts - some of which are very good indeed - sit alongside the world poetry that has inspired them. The
students first read, discuss, and then translate into Spanish and English authors as diverse as William Shakespeare, Pablo Neruda, Federico García
Lorca and Rainer Maria Rilke, before attempting their own poems.
They are encouraged to experiment with particular styles, such as the ode, haiku and tanka. They also practice using metaphor and simile and work on
imaginatively communicating a sense of place and identity. Their subjects range from the mundane to the ethereal, covering life and death, art and
politics, home and school.
One of the most memorable in the collection is that written by a second-grader, Andrés Ventura, following the deportation of his friend Gerardo. He
wrote the poem in Spanish and translated it into English himself.
From "I Knew Gerardo"
I knew he was frightened of the INS,
Hiding from the guns.
I knew him imprisoned in a house.
I knew him swimming in an ocean without his arms.
Although the book is primarily aimed at children aged 8 and upwards and intended as a "resource for educators and students in literature, creative
writing, Spanish and multilingual classrooms," it will also delight adult readers. It certainly made me pause to ponder the creative art of
translation - as well as serving as an introduction to a number of prominent Mexican authors, among them Alberto Blanco, David Huerta and the Chicano
poet Francisco X. Alarcón.
Poetry is wonderfully inclusive - it is for all ages and abilities - and this charming anthology encourages the reader to unleash the poet within.
Judging by some of their poems, when it comes to exploring inner worlds and finding the creative expression to describe what they find there, these
youngsters could probably teach adults a thing or two.
"With This Quarter," another favorite, inspired the anthology's title.
With this quarter
I will buy
a suitcase full of Mexicans ruins;
a thimbleful of joy;
a pocketful of voices;
a wagon full of dreams
a teacup of nonsense,
and nothing else
-Thamar León, 4th grade
Lucy Popescu is author of "The Good Tourist: An Ethical Traveller's Guide" and blogs at lucypopescu.wordpress.com.
Udo - 5-21-2009 at 07:05 PM
It is interesting in one's opinion of poetry. Being a parent, I can see where the kids are coming from.
bajamigo - 5-21-2009 at 09:20 PM
Sorry to piggyback on your post, Oso, but do you or anyone know where I can books for teens in Spanish, in Braille? We know several young people in
the Punta Banda area who are blind, and about the only book they can get fairly easily is the Bible. Not that it's a bad thing, but I know a little
variety in their reading selections would go a long way.
Paulina - 5-21-2009 at 09:26 PM
Thank you Oso. Children are so honest, no matter the language they speak.