Comments on: Two Baudelaires. http://www.pragmatik.org/blog/2008/02/two-baudelaires/ Glossolalia, complaining and cycling. Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:31:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Matthew http://www.pragmatik.org/blog/2008/02/two-baudelaires/#comment-20435 Matthew Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:21:36 +0000 http://www.pragmatik.org/blog/2008/02/two-baudelaires/#comment-20435 I picked up HOWL and Scattered Poems from a small bookstore in "downtown" Westminster, MD (near where I grew up) after they ordered them for me when I was in high school. Probably sophomore year. That was the end for me. Then I tried to be a poet... I love those little books. And the whole City Lights era. As for Baudelaire, I haven't had the patience to delve into him. My wife has a master's in French Lit. She appreciates him, but I haven't gotten the fever yet. Whitman though... he rules: <blockquote>A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child?.... I do not know what it is any more than he.</blockquote> Zounds! I picked up HOWL and Scattered Poems from a small bookstore in “downtown” Westminster, MD (near where I grew up) after they ordered them for me when I was in high school. Probably sophomore year. That was the end for me. Then I tried to be a poet… I love those little books. And the whole City Lights era. As for Baudelaire, I haven’t had the patience to delve into him. My wife has a master’s in French Lit. She appreciates him, but I haven’t gotten the fever yet.

Whitman though… he rules:

A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;

How could I answer the child?…. I do not know what it is any more than he.

Zounds!

]]> By: ahniwa http://www.pragmatik.org/blog/2008/02/two-baudelaires/#comment-20411 ahniwa Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:54:31 +0000 http://www.pragmatik.org/blog/2008/02/two-baudelaires/#comment-20411 Ahh, French poetry. I encourage you to get those French skills going, there's really a reason it's considered a poetic language. There are some good translations of Baudelaire out there, luckily. I like Richard Howard's somewhat more prosaic translations. As for Rimbaud, I feel like a great deal of his work has been fairly poorly put into English. The one exception is Louise Varese's great prose translations of A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat. I spent my last term in undergrad translating Rimbaud. It's some intense stuff! Also, watching Amelie in French. Absolutely. Ahh, French poetry. I encourage you to get those French skills going, there’s really a reason it’s considered a poetic language. There are some good translations of Baudelaire out there, luckily. I like Richard Howard’s somewhat more prosaic translations.

As for Rimbaud, I feel like a great deal of his work has been fairly poorly put into English. The one exception is Louise Varese’s great prose translations of A Season in Hell and The Drunken Boat. I spent my last term in undergrad translating Rimbaud. It’s some intense stuff!

Also, watching Amelie in French. Absolutely.

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