"In Spite of Everything": Annie Freud reading her translation of Jacques Tornay

06/13/18 • 5 min

Introduction to Jacques Tornay by Annie Freud, published in MPT 'Profound Pyromania'. I met Jacques Tornay in 2016 at HeadRead, the International Literary Festival of Estonia. Sitting in the audience, listening to poems in many languages which are foreign to me, I was suddenly transported by the familiar sounds of the French language. Having been brought up on the poems of Ronsard, Du Bellay, Lamartine and de Regnier, I had the sensation of inhabiting that part of myself that breathes, hears and dreams in French. While the poet spoke, the hubbub of chairs and glasses quietened and I was overtaken by an irresistible smile. For those who don’t know him, Tornay is a French-speaking Swiss writer, journalist and translator. His work includes poetry, short stories, aphorisms and biography. He is the author of numerous books and has been the recipient of prestigious prizes. It was no surprise to learn of his love for Rilke, the poet I am most reminded of when reading his work. Set in the stark landscapes of his native country, these are poems of introspection and of the enigma of the self. They explore opposing states of being human: serenity, anxiety; enlightenment, delusion; conviction, uncertainty; mundanity, exaltation – and their ephemeral nature. Yet in spite of their apparent focus on the ‘grand’ themes, these poems are rooted in the everyday. Whether recalling the delight on fi nding a wild plum lying on his path, the smell of pickled cabbage, or a pair of sandals le on a step, the reader is aware not only of a richness of thought but also of their unique quality of stoicism. They off er the reader an ‘arm to steer a path though Winter’. I am proud to call him a friend. Grandeur nature (2003), Gains de causes (2009) and Feuilles de présence (2006) by Jacques Tornay are available from Éditions l’Arrière-Pays. h p://www.larrièrepays.fr/ ____ ANNIE FREUD is the author of three poetry collections published by Picador: The Best Man That Ever Was, The Mirabelles and The Remains. She is one of the Next Generation Poets 2014, named by the Poetry Book Society.

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The Struggle: a reading and discussion with Hisham Bustani and translator Thoraya El-Rayyes

From the introduction to Hisham Bustani's poems in MPT 'A Blossom Shroud' by translator Thoraya El-Rayyes: Few poems better capture the cynicism of the infamously irate Hisham Bustani than these two odes to frustration. A poet, short-story writer, political commentator and veteran rabble rouser, Bustani’s eventful public life has been punctuated by various brushes with the police state – from harassment by the censors and security services, to arrests for his writing and involvement in political protest. Bustani’s poem ‘On the Brink Of’ revolves around vivid imagery from the urban landscape of the Jordanian capital Amman, where he lives. Through this imagery, the poem constructs a noisy microcosm of Middle Eastern post-colonial modernity in all its dysfunction – from urban sheep-herding to petrodollar-fuelled sex tourism. The other poem presented here, ‘The Struggle’, is a forceful portrait depicting the futility of individual human endeavour in the face of larger forces that shape our world. It conveys an experience of powerlessness no doubt familiar to an author from the would-be revolutionary generation of the Arab Spring, a generation whose years of protest and mobilization eventually proved futile in the face of geopolitical considerations and the power of the deep state.

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IN this episode, MPT Editor Clare Pollard introduces our Digital Pamphlet on Estonian poetry, silencesilencesilencesilencesilencesilence, and looks back at our online translation workshop on Estonian poetry. See more: http://modernpoetryintranslation.com/estonian-poetry-digital-pamphlet-silencesilencesilencesilencesilencesilence/