[F.F. Teague]

Hi,

There's a very interesting interview with Andrew in LARB today. It begins with a brief history of his interest in translation, moves on to Dante specifically, and concludes with Andrew's influences and his thoughts on the future of poetry. You can read it here.

You might recognise the interviewer

Thanks, Andrew

Best wishes,
Fliss

[Allen Tice]

Very interesting, and about you both. I’m alive to the way Andrew thought about his translation of gentile. Sometimes a “literal” translation just won’t do, especially when a critical target word in a living language has two different messages because its usage has changed almost ninety degrees in the last 500 years. What was reasonable long ago might be much less clear to a linguistic stranger from outside the mother tongue who might read an anachronistic modern military directive into a simple children’s prayer that has remained in use to this day. The case in point is in my book on Amazon (“Allen Tice” search word), and the vexed word is “befehl” in the last poem, a translation.

[Sarah-Jane Crowson]

First - congratulations, both - and second, it's really nice to read as well as full of interesting ideas and more intellectual points - I like how this reads as a conversation - it comes across as a genuine dialogue, which isn't true of all interviews.

Kathleen Raine! I think she wrote one of my favourite lines ever - 'The bird's heart consumes the soaring life to blood and bone'

Sarah-Jane

[F.F. Teague]

Thanks, Allen and Sarah-Jane

Allen, I appreciate your comments. Yes, Andrew's thoughts on his translation of gentile are very interesting. And thanks for the example from your book.

Sarah-Jane, thanks for the congratulations. I'm pleased that you enjoyed reading the interview. Thanks also for sharing that line.

Best wishes,
Fliss

[Andrew Frisardi]

Fliss is of course being much too modest. She directed the interview, and I was happy to be led by her. Her questions were right on the money, and her meticulous care of the text made it easy. Thank you, Fliss, your name belongs on this subject heading: it’s a Teague and Frisardi production!

[Susan McLean]

Congratulations to you both. It is a fascinating interview, and I enjoyed reading it.

Susan