web01.fireside.fm Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:13:17 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Poetry For All - Episodes Tagged with “Poetry In Translation” https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/tags/poetry%20in%20translation Thu, 14 Nov 2024 18:00:00 -0500 This podcast is for those who already love poetry and for those who know very little about it. In this podcast, we read a poem, discuss it, see what makes it tick, learn how it works, grow from it, and then read it one more time. Introducing our brand new Poetry For All website: https://poetryforallpod.com! Please visit the new website to learn more about our guests, search for thematic episodes (ranging from Black History Month to the season of autumn), and subscribe to our newsletter. en-us episodic Finding Our Way Into Great Poems Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen This podcast is for those who already love poetry and for those who know very little about it. In this podcast, we read a poem, discuss it, see what makes it tick, learn how it works, grow from it, and then read it one more time. Introducing our brand new Poetry For All website: https://poetryforallpod.com! Please visit the new website to learn more about our guests, search for thematic episodes (ranging from Black History Month to the season of autumn), and subscribe to our newsletter. no poetry, poems, literature, teaching, education Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen vanengen@wustl.edu Episode 82: Sidney, Translation of Psalm 52 https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/82 860191b2-28db-4a51-bfde-c3c0fe4565f1 Thu, 14 Nov 2024 18:00:00 -0500 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen full 6 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen Psalm 52 concerns a lying tyrant and God's impending judgment. Mary Sidney, who lived 1561-1621, was an extraordinary writer, editor, and literary patron. Like many talented writers of her time, she translated all the psalms. Here we talk about translation, early modern women's writing, religious engagements with politics, and the power of Psalm 52. 26:33 no Psalm 52 concerns a lying tyrant and God's impending judgment. Mary Sidney, who lived 1561-1621, was an extraordinary writer, editor, and literary patron. Like many talented writers of her time, she translated all the psalms. Here we talk about translation, early modern women's writing, religious engagements with politics, and the power of Psalm 52. For more on Mary Sidney, see The Poetry Foundation page: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-sidney-herbert For the Geneva translation of Psalm 52, which Mary Sidney would have known, see here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2052&version=GNV For a new collection of English translations of the psalms in the early modern era, see The Psalms in English 1530-1633 (Tudor and Stuart Translations) (https://a.co/d/6lKqKPS), edited by Hannibal Hamlin. Psalm 52 translated by Mary Sidney Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus,  Of mischief vaunting? Since help from God to us  Is never wanting. Lewd lies thy tongue contrives,  Loud lies it soundeth; Sharper than sharpest knives  With lies it woundeth. Falsehood thy wit approves,  All truth rejected: Thy will all vices loves,  Virtue neglected. Not words from cursed thee,  But gulfs are poured; Gulfs wherein daily be  Good men devoured. Think’st thou to bear it so?  God shall displace thee; God shall thee overthrow,  Crush thee, deface thee. The just shall fearing see  These fearful chances, And laughing shoot at thee  With scornful glances. Lo, lo, the wretched wight,  Who God disdaining, His mischief made his might,  His guard his gaining. I as an olive tree  Still green shall flourish: God’s house the soil shall be  My roots to nourish. My trust in his true love  Truly attending, Shall never thence remove,  Never see ending. Thee will I honour still,  Lord, for this justice; There fix my hopes I will  Where thy saints’ trust is. Thy saints trust in thy name,  Therein they joy them: Protected by the same,  Naught can annoy them. 16th century, poetry in translation, women's history month, Christianity, rhymed verse, social justice and advocacy, hope, anger Psalm 52 concerns a lying tyrant and God's impending judgment. Mary Sidney, who lived 1561-1621, was an extraordinary writer, editor, and literary patron. Like many talented writers of her time, she translated all the psalms. Here we talk about translation, early modern women's writing, religious engagements with politics, and the power of Psalm 52.

For more on Mary Sidney, see The Poetry Foundation page: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-sidney-herbert

For the Geneva translation of Psalm 52, which Mary Sidney would have known, see here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2052&version=GNV

For a new collection of English translations of the psalms in the early modern era, see The Psalms in English 1530-1633 (Tudor and Stuart Translations), edited by Hannibal Hamlin.

Psalm 52
translated by Mary Sidney

Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus,
 Of mischief vaunting?
Since help from God to us
 Is never wanting.

Lewd lies thy tongue contrives,
 Loud lies it soundeth;
Sharper than sharpest knives
 With lies it woundeth.

Falsehood thy wit approves,
 All truth rejected:
Thy will all vices loves,
 Virtue neglected.

Not words from cursed thee,
 But gulfs are poured;
Gulfs wherein daily be
 Good men devoured.

Think’st thou to bear it so?
 God shall displace thee;
God shall thee overthrow,
 Crush thee, deface thee.

The just shall fearing see
 These fearful chances,
And laughing shoot at thee
 With scornful glances.

Lo, lo, the wretched wight,
 Who God disdaining,
His mischief made his might,
 His guard his gaining.

I as an olive tree
 Still green shall flourish:
God’s house the soil shall be
 My roots to nourish.

My trust in his true love
 Truly attending,
Shall never thence remove,
 Never see ending.

Thee will I honour still,
 Lord, for this justice;
There fix my hopes I will
 Where thy saints’ trust is.

Thy saints trust in thy name,
 Therein they joy them:
Protected by the same,
 Naught can annoy them.

]]> Psalm 52 concerns a lying tyrant and God's impending judgment. Mary Sidney, who lived 1561-1621, was an extraordinary writer, editor, and literary patron. Like many talented writers of her time, she translated all the psalms. Here we talk about translation, early modern women's writing, religious engagements with politics, and the power of Psalm 52.

For more on Mary Sidney, see The Poetry Foundation page: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-sidney-herbert

For the Geneva translation of Psalm 52, which Mary Sidney would have known, see here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2052&version=GNV

For a new collection of English translations of the psalms in the early modern era, see The Psalms in English 1530-1633 (Tudor and Stuart Translations), edited by Hannibal Hamlin.

Psalm 52
translated by Mary Sidney

Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus,
 Of mischief vaunting?
Since help from God to us
 Is never wanting.

Lewd lies thy tongue contrives,
 Loud lies it soundeth;
Sharper than sharpest knives
 With lies it woundeth.

Falsehood thy wit approves,
 All truth rejected:
Thy will all vices loves,
 Virtue neglected.

Not words from cursed thee,
 But gulfs are poured;
Gulfs wherein daily be
 Good men devoured.

Think’st thou to bear it so?
 God shall displace thee;
God shall thee overthrow,
 Crush thee, deface thee.

The just shall fearing see
 These fearful chances,
And laughing shoot at thee
 With scornful glances.

Lo, lo, the wretched wight,
 Who God disdaining,
His mischief made his might,
 His guard his gaining.

I as an olive tree
 Still green shall flourish:
God’s house the soil shall be
 My roots to nourish.

My trust in his true love
 Truly attending,
Shall never thence remove,
 Never see ending.

Thee will I honour still,
 Lord, for this justice;
There fix my hopes I will
 Where thy saints’ trust is.

Thy saints trust in thy name,
 Therein they joy them:
Protected by the same,
 Naught can annoy them.

]]> Episode 75: Du Fu, Passing the Night by White Sands Post Station https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/75 a762f3cf-844f-4d46-84dc-a972662c4245 Wed, 07 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0400 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen full 6 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen What is a good life, and how do we make sense of the world when it seems like society is collapsing? In this episode, Lucas Bender joins us once again to discuss the work of Du Fu, the great Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Luke helps us to see how Du Fu’s “Passing the Night by White Sands Post Station” can be read in multiple ways depending on how one translates each word of the poem. In doing so, he reveals the poem’s concerns with aging, disappointment, and the possibility of hope in difficult times. 18:16 no What is a good life, and how do we make sense of the world when it seems like society is collapsing? In this episode, Lucas Bender joins us once again to discuss the work of Du Fu (712-770 C.E.), the great Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Luke helps us to see how Du Fu’s “Passing the Night by White Sands Post Station” can be read in multiple ways depending on how one translates each word of the poem. In doing so, he reveals the poem’s concerns with aging, disappointment, and the possibility of hope in difficult times. Click here (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/tu-fu) to learn more about Du Fu. Lucas Bender is the author of Du Fu Transforms: Tradition and Ethics amid Societal Collapse (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674260177) (Harvard University Press, 2021). To learn more about Luke Bender, visit his website (https://campuspress.yale.edu/lucasrambobender/). Cover art: Wang Hui, Ten Thousand Li up the Yangtze River, Qing Dynasty. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. poetry in translation, world poetry, chinese poetry, nature poetry, night, aging, loneliness, restlessness What is a good life, and how do we make sense of the world when it seems like society is collapsing? In this episode, Lucas Bender joins us once again to discuss the work of Du Fu (712-770 C.E.), the great Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Luke helps us to see how Du Fu’s “Passing the Night by White Sands Post Station” can be read in multiple ways depending on how one translates each word of the poem. In doing so, he reveals the poem’s concerns with aging, disappointment, and the possibility of hope in difficult times.

Click here to learn more about Du Fu.

Lucas Bender is the author of Du Fu Transforms: Tradition and Ethics amid Societal Collapse (Harvard University Press, 2021).

To learn more about Luke Bender, visit his website.

Cover art: Wang Hui, Ten Thousand Li up the Yangtze River, Qing Dynasty. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

]]> What is a good life, and how do we make sense of the world when it seems like society is collapsing? In this episode, Lucas Bender joins us once again to discuss the work of Du Fu (712-770 C.E.), the great Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty. Luke helps us to see how Du Fu’s “Passing the Night by White Sands Post Station” can be read in multiple ways depending on how one translates each word of the poem. In doing so, he reveals the poem’s concerns with aging, disappointment, and the possibility of hope in difficult times.

Click here to learn more about Du Fu.

Lucas Bender is the author of Du Fu Transforms: Tradition and Ethics amid Societal Collapse (Harvard University Press, 2021).

To learn more about Luke Bender, visit his website.

Cover art: Wang Hui, Ten Thousand Li up the Yangtze River, Qing Dynasty. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

]]> Episode 73: Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, Sonnet 189 https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/73 c6cee557-a504-4296-8547-9f99d8d8f020 Mon, 08 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0400 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen full 6 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen In this episode, Professor Stephanie Kirk guides our reading of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz’s “Sonnet 189.” Her scholarly insights help us to appreciate the nuances of Sor Juana’s poetry and her importance in her own lifetime and beyond. 24:41 no In this episode, Professor Stephanie Kirk guides our reading of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz’s “Sonnet 189.” Her scholarly insights help us to appreciate the nuances of Sor Juana’s poetry and her importance in her own lifetime and beyond. Professor Kirk read Edith Grossman's translation of "Sonnet 189" from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Selected Works (https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393920161). Copyright (c) 2014 by Edith Grossman. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. To learn more about Stephanie Kirk’s scholarship, you can click here (https://artsci.wustl.edu/faculty-staff/stephanie-kirk). Cover image: Miguel Cabrera, posthumous portrait of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, 1750. Museo Nacional de Historia, Mexico City, Mexico. Public domain. 17th century, sonnet, poetry in translation, Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, World Poetry, love, eros and desire In this episode, Professor Stephanie Kirk guides our reading of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz’s “Sonnet 189.” Her scholarly insights help us to appreciate the nuances of Sor Juana’s poetry and her importance in her own lifetime and beyond.

Professor Kirk read Edith Grossman's translation of "Sonnet 189" from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Selected Works. Copyright (c) 2014 by Edith Grossman. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

To learn more about Stephanie Kirk’s scholarship, you can click here.

Cover image: Miguel Cabrera, posthumous portrait of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, 1750. Museo Nacional de Historia, Mexico City, Mexico. Public domain.

]]> In this episode, Professor Stephanie Kirk guides our reading of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz’s “Sonnet 189.” Her scholarly insights help us to appreciate the nuances of Sor Juana’s poetry and her importance in her own lifetime and beyond.

Professor Kirk read Edith Grossman's translation of "Sonnet 189" from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Selected Works. Copyright (c) 2014 by Edith Grossman. With permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

To learn more about Stephanie Kirk’s scholarship, you can click here.

Cover image: Miguel Cabrera, posthumous portrait of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, 1750. Museo Nacional de Historia, Mexico City, Mexico. Public domain.

]]> Episode 65: Du Fu, Facing Snow https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/65 7a2a1e0b-af48-4faf-afca-6988fbf89805 Thu, 19 Oct 2023 09:00:00 -0400 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen full 6 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen In this episode, Lucas Bender guides us through his translation of Du Fu's "Facing Snow," one of the most famous poems in the Chinese language. 23:57 no In this episode, Lucas Bender guides us through his translation of Du Fu's "Facing Snow," one of the most famous poems in the Chinese language. To learn more about Du Fu's life, work, and cultural significance, please see Lucas Bender's Du Fu Transforms: Tradition and Ethics amid Societal Collapse (Harvard University Press, 2021). (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674260177) 8th century, grief and loss, guest on the show, poetry in translation, rhymed verse, world poetry In this episode, Lucas Bender guides us through his translation of Du Fu's "Facing Snow," one of the most famous poems in the Chinese language.

To learn more about Du Fu's life, work, and cultural significance, please see Lucas Bender's Du Fu Transforms: Tradition and Ethics amid Societal Collapse (Harvard University Press, 2021).

]]> In this episode, Lucas Bender guides us through his translation of Du Fu's "Facing Snow," one of the most famous poems in the Chinese language.

To learn more about Du Fu's life, work, and cultural significance, please see Lucas Bender's Du Fu Transforms: Tradition and Ethics amid Societal Collapse (Harvard University Press, 2021).

]]> Episode 63: Rumi, Colorless, Nameless, Free https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/63 ef590d83-e80f-4bc6-8498-c781616fa252 Tue, 29 Aug 2023 18:30:00 -0400 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen full 6 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen In this episode, poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori joins us to closely read and discuss a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273 CE), one of the greatest of all Sufi poets. We discuss the poetic constraints of the ghazal form, Rumi's encounters with the divine, and the significance of his friendship with Shams, a man who transformed his life and poetic practice. 29:56 no Poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori joins us to closely read and discuss a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273 CE), one of the greatest of all Sufi poets. We discuss the poetic constraints of the ghazal form, Rumi's encounters with the divine, and the significance of his friendship with Shams, a man who transformed his life and poetic practice. Haleh Liza Gafori's translations of Rumi's poetry appear in Gold (https://www.nyrb.com/products/gold) (NYRB Press, 2022). You can learn more about her work as a vocalist, poet, translator and performer here (https://www.halehliza.com/). To learn more about Rumi, visit the Poetry Foundation website (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jalal-al-din-rumi). Cover photo from The Walters Art Museum (https://art.thewalters.org/detail/77715/illuminated-preface-to-the-second-book-of-the-collection-of-poems-masnavi-2/) 13th century, ghazal, guest on the show, islam, joy, poetry in translation, restlessness, rhymed verse, spirituality, surprise, wonder, world poetry Poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori joins us to closely read and discuss a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273 CE), one of the greatest of all Sufi poets. We discuss the poetic constraints of the ghazal form, Rumi's encounters with the divine, and the significance of his friendship with Shams, a man who transformed his life and poetic practice.

Haleh Liza Gafori's translations of Rumi's poetry appear in Gold (NYRB Press, 2022).

You can learn more about her work as a vocalist, poet, translator and performer here.

To learn more about Rumi, visit the Poetry Foundation website.

Cover photo from The Walters Art Museum

]]> Poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori joins us to closely read and discuss a poem by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (1207-1273 CE), one of the greatest of all Sufi poets. We discuss the poetic constraints of the ghazal form, Rumi's encounters with the divine, and the significance of his friendship with Shams, a man who transformed his life and poetic practice.

Haleh Liza Gafori's translations of Rumi's poetry appear in Gold (NYRB Press, 2022).

You can learn more about her work as a vocalist, poet, translator and performer here.

To learn more about Rumi, visit the Poetry Foundation website.

Cover photo from The Walters Art Museum

]]> Episode 62: Kobayashi Issa, Haiku https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/62 97e0b752-34cd-4447-99a9-1ee5a2db6a62 Fri, 11 Aug 2023 10:00:00 -0400 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen full 6 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen What makes haiku "the perfect poetic form"? This episode reads three wonderful haiku by Kobayashi Issa and explores what makes them so moving and fun. 17:19 no What makes haiku "the perfect poetic form"? This episode reads three wonderful haiku by Kobayashi Issa and explores what makes them so moving and fun. We use the beautiful translations of award-winning poet Robert Haas in The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa. To see these haiku and others online, visit The Poetry Foundation here (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50983/selected-haiku-by-issa). To see (and purchase) the book, see HarperCollins here (https://www.harpercollins.com/products/essential-haiku-volume-20-hass?variant=32118145876002). Thank you to HarperCollins for permission to read these translations on our podcast. For more on Kobayashi Issa, visit the Poetry Foundation here (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/kobayashi-issa). 18th century, haiku, joy, poet laureate, poetry in translation, spring, surprise, world poetry What makes haiku "the perfect poetic form"? This episode reads three wonderful haiku by Kobayashi Issa and explores what makes them so moving and fun.

We use the beautiful translations of award-winning poet Robert Haas in The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa. To see these haiku and others online, visit The Poetry Foundation here.

To see (and purchase) the book, see HarperCollins here.

Thank you to HarperCollins for permission to read these translations on our podcast.

For more on Kobayashi Issa, visit the Poetry Foundation here.

]]> What makes haiku "the perfect poetic form"? This episode reads three wonderful haiku by Kobayashi Issa and explores what makes them so moving and fun.

We use the beautiful translations of award-winning poet Robert Haas in The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa. To see these haiku and others online, visit The Poetry Foundation here.

To see (and purchase) the book, see HarperCollins here.

Thank you to HarperCollins for permission to read these translations on our podcast.

For more on Kobayashi Issa, visit the Poetry Foundation here.

]]> Episode 43: Margaret Noodin, What the Peepers Say https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/43 ce4a6484-817c-4f46-a044-399bd232d31a Wed, 02 Mar 2022 15:00:00 -0500 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen full 4 Joanne Diaz and Abram Van Engen In this episode, Margaret Noodin joins us to discuss her poem "What the Peepers Say." In our conversation, we talk about Margaret's writing in both Anishinaabemowin and English, her attention to sounds and rhythms, and what the peeper--a tiny springtime frog--can teach us about presence and listening. 24:22 no In this episode, Margaret Noodin joins us to discuss her poem "What the Peepers Say." In our conversation, we talk about Margaret's writing in both Anishinaabemowin and English, her attention to sounds and rhythms, and what the peeper--a tiny springtime frog--can teach us about presence and listening. Margaret Noodin (https://uwm.edu/english/our-people/noodin-margaret/) is the author of two bilingual collections of poetry in both Anishinaabemowin and English: Weweni (https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/weweni) and What the Chickadee Knows (https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/what-chickadee-knows#:~:text=What%20the%20Chickadee%20Knows%20is,one%20another%20on%20facing%20pages.). She is a professor of English and American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she also serves as director of the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education. To learn more about Ahishinaabemowin, visit ojibwe.net (https://ojibwe.net/). To hear the sound of the spring peeper, click on this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_L7Ha6uwQA). Photo of Margaret Noodin © Troye Fox. 21st century, alliterative verse, free verse, guest on the show, native american heritage month, nature poetry, poetry in translation, repetition or refrain, spirituality, spring, wonder In this episode, Margaret Noodin joins us to discuss her poem "What the Peepers Say." In our conversation, we talk about Margaret's writing in both Anishinaabemowin and English, her attention to sounds and rhythms, and what the peeper--a tiny springtime frog--can teach us about presence and listening.

Margaret Noodin is the author of two bilingual collections of poetry in both Anishinaabemowin and English: Weweni and What the Chickadee Knows. She is a professor of English and American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she also serves as director of the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education.

To learn more about Ahishinaabemowin, visit ojibwe.net.

To hear the sound of the spring peeper, click on this link.

Photo of Margaret Noodin © Troye Fox.

]]> In this episode, Margaret Noodin joins us to discuss her poem "What the Peepers Say." In our conversation, we talk about Margaret's writing in both Anishinaabemowin and English, her attention to sounds and rhythms, and what the peeper--a tiny springtime frog--can teach us about presence and listening.

Margaret Noodin is the author of two bilingual collections of poetry in both Anishinaabemowin and English: Weweni and What the Chickadee Knows. She is a professor of English and American Indian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she also serves as director of the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education.

To learn more about Ahishinaabemowin, visit ojibwe.net.

To hear the sound of the spring peeper, click on this link.

Photo of Margaret Noodin © Troye Fox.

]]>