Book
Re iews
De lin,
T ansla ions in o English: F om F ench,Ge man and I alian
Poe y.
Edi ed by Roge Li le. Dublin: The Dedalus P ess, 1992. 360
pages. pape ).
I is app op ia e ha his olume should be no iced in an issue
de o ed o De ek Mahon's wo k, o bo h De lin and ha e
ound ansla ion om F ench o be a aluable poe ic esou ce. By a
he g ea e p opo ion o De lin's ansla ions ga he ed in his olume
-
some 90% eckoning by a simple page coun
-
a e om F ench.
This book is he second s age in a p ojec o make all o De lin's
poe y a ailable in p in . The
Collec ed Poems
appea ed in 1989. As
Gene alEdi o J.C.C. Mays explains in a p e ace, De lin's ansla ions
om and in o I ish will ollow, and hen he unpublished ea ly and
la e poems in English. The olume o
T ansla ions English
has
been edi ed by Roge Li le, and i is a model o sc upulous p esen
-
a ion. The ansla ions a e gi en wi h he o iginal sou ce poems on
he acing page; his eeds and acili a es a p ima y in e es o eading
and eac ing o poe y
in
ansla ion, which lies in obse ing he
nego ia ion ha a poe makes wi h a ex . The e a e con
-
cise no es a he back de ailing he manusc ip sou ces and glossing
poin s as necessa y. Cha , Paul Elua d, Spi e, and
John Pe se a e he sou ce poe s o mos o he ma e ial. The w i ing
ca ee so hese poe s we e oughly con empo a y wi h ha o De lin.
He came in o con ac wi h hem du ing his ime as a diploma in he
US and I aly and, as P o esso Li le's help ul in oduc ion sugges s,
he may ha e been a ac ed o hei wo k h ough ci cums ance.
Ne e heless, ansla ion igu ed as pa o De lin's poe ic p ojec
om he ea lies s ages, and he ne e los his en husiasm o i .
Many o hese ansla ions om Cha appea ed in he ea lie
Collec ed Poems,
as did he p ose
-
poem ansla ions om Sain
-
John
Pe se. These las we e a signi ican cons i uen o De lin's wo k, and
a e o mo e gene al signi icance in ha Sain
-
John Pe se was p obably
he mos no able exponen o he p ose
-
poem. Fu he mo e, his
edi ion akes he oppo uni y o poin ou and co ec he lawed
p in ingo
"
Exile
"
in
Collec ed Poems,
whe e a subs an ial passage was
omi ed.
In
he na u e o his en e p ise, alongside he mo e inished pieces
such as he Sain
-
JohnPe se ansla ions, he e a e d a s and e sions
esu ec ed o un imely sna ched
-
om manusc ip s, wi h lines
such
as he ollowing awkwa d ende ing o he opening o
"
La
IRISH
UNIVERSITY
Oh hou who like
a
ongue esides
in
a
da k place
Thou knowes li leand
I
shall no call
hee
Wise; and ye when hou speak's
I
lis en
When hou speak's
like
o
a man who ecalle h
I
lis en;and i
is
like a b anch when
a
bi d s andson i .
One can see, in pa , wha has happened. Sea ching o an equi alen
o he F ench second pe son singula , De lin eso s o he us ian
a chaic English o m; his sp eads in ec iously o he hi d pe son
in
"
ecalle h
"
, and i is only by luck we a e spa ed in he nex
line. And a e he ew pieces om Ge man and I alian, he e is a
o lo n appendix o o phaned pieces headed
"
T ansla ions
(?)
om
Un acedSou ces
"
,such as
"
Sou h Wall
"
(Iquo e i en i e):
The no hcone has been lying his coupleo days and mo e
The local
s a e
a
pilings
in
he mud.
This is he o hing which gi es poe y
in
ansla ion
-
o e en
in
"
ansla ion
-
a bad name. While admi ing he edi o 's
ho oughness,
I
ques ion whe he De lin's epu a ion is bes se ed
by his so o d edging, and whe he his epu a ion is as ye
su icien lyassu ed o ake i .
Bu we mus also be g a e ul o he successes which
T ansla ions
English
b ings o ligh .
O
he p e iously unpublished wo k,
De lin's ansla ions o Spi e wo k well, and in oduce a poe
o whom I was no p e iously awa e. And while he e is no hing he e
o equal Va
"
o
"
The Hea enlyFo eigne
"
,a numbe o he
ansla ions show De lin app oaching a ly ical mode which is a ely
appa en
in
his own mo e somb e poems, so ha ou iew o him
is
b oadened. In pa icula
I
would men ion his e sion o
"
Le Pon Mi abeau
"
which, while i looks sligh ly un inished, none
-
heless ollows he u nsand eg e so hesingingo iginal.
PETER
Small,
Osca Wilde An
Essay
on
New
Ma e ial Me hods
o
Resea ch.
The
1880
-
1920
B i ish Au ho s Se ies: No.
8.
G eensbo o,
N.C.:
ELT
P ess,
1993.275
pages. No p ice gi en.
I one had some assu ance abou he ue alue o Osca Wilde, i
would no be di icul o e alue
him.
Bu (as he compile o he
C i ical He i age
complains) despi e he ac ha p obably mo e has
been w i en on han mos o he nine een h
-
cen u y w i e s, his
epu a ion is s ill unce ain. Up o he las en o so yea s, Wilde was