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[CCBC-Net] SIDE BY SIDE - A Fine New Global Anthology
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From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:00:51 -0500
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of seeing the engaging new anthology SIDE BY SIDE: NEW POEMS INSPIRED BY ART FROM AROUND THE WORLD edited by Jan Greenberg (Abrams, 2008).
Greenberg invited more than two dozen poets to select a work of art on which to reflect and write a poem. The outcomes suggest astonishing and delightful creative leaps. A translation into English is adjacent to the original language of each poem. As named in the book, the languages include Spanish, Vietnamese, Turkish, Swedish, Navajo, Tigrinya, Arabic, German, Hebrew, Dutch, Polish, Italian, Korean, Russian, Chinese, Catalan, French and Japanese. A world map assists those of us who are linguistically or geographically challenged. There's a biographical listing of the poets and translators, and another with biographical information about the artists. Everything visual is exciting and accessible on a browsing basis for young children, and that can include just seeing multiple languages in print. Older kids and adults might notice a note about each artist's medium (thank you!). Perhaps they'll become intrigued by Greenberg's explanation of ekphrastic poetry, or maybe by the varied media and poetic forms on pages such as those barely containing the break-out "a catastrophe theory (excerpt)."
Greenberg's opening section ends with translator Lawrence Venuti's words: "I can't think of anything more creative than extending the life of a foreign poem. When the poem is based upon a painting, the satisfaction is distinctive and doubled. A new perception comes into English, a new comment on an artwork, along with a new poem." She then suggests that we each become more observant by writing down what we see. She calls this a treasure hunt, and I call her book a treasure. SIDE BY SIDE offers a significant global perspective. I'll immediately add it to my way too small collection of global anthologies featuring the outstanding ones edited by Naomi Shihab Nye and Ruth Gordon. - Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at wisc.edu
Received on Wed 16 Apr 2008 01:00:51 PM CDT
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:00:51 -0500
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of seeing the engaging new anthology SIDE BY SIDE: NEW POEMS INSPIRED BY ART FROM AROUND THE WORLD edited by Jan Greenberg (Abrams, 2008).
Greenberg invited more than two dozen poets to select a work of art on which to reflect and write a poem. The outcomes suggest astonishing and delightful creative leaps. A translation into English is adjacent to the original language of each poem. As named in the book, the languages include Spanish, Vietnamese, Turkish, Swedish, Navajo, Tigrinya, Arabic, German, Hebrew, Dutch, Polish, Italian, Korean, Russian, Chinese, Catalan, French and Japanese. A world map assists those of us who are linguistically or geographically challenged. There's a biographical listing of the poets and translators, and another with biographical information about the artists. Everything visual is exciting and accessible on a browsing basis for young children, and that can include just seeing multiple languages in print. Older kids and adults might notice a note about each artist's medium (thank you!). Perhaps they'll become intrigued by Greenberg's explanation of ekphrastic poetry, or maybe by the varied media and poetic forms on pages such as those barely containing the break-out "a catastrophe theory (excerpt)."
Greenberg's opening section ends with translator Lawrence Venuti's words: "I can't think of anything more creative than extending the life of a foreign poem. When the poem is based upon a painting, the satisfaction is distinctive and doubled. A new perception comes into English, a new comment on an artwork, along with a new poem." She then suggests that we each become more observant by writing down what we see. She calls this a treasure hunt, and I call her book a treasure. SIDE BY SIDE offers a significant global perspective. I'll immediately add it to my way too small collection of global anthologies featuring the outstanding ones edited by Naomi Shihab Nye and Ruth Gordon. - Ginny
Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at wisc.edu
Received on Wed 16 Apr 2008 01:00:51 PM CDT
