Translation as Poetry Engine

This panel will think about the work of translation as a source for poetry writing. Translation introduces a different kind of music into the writer’s ear – other melodies, other rhythms. Reading and writing translation loosens the conventional bindings of syntax. It reminds the poet how flexible language is and how it longs to be played with in unusual ways. We’re interested in misunderstanding as a method of writing, interested in mistranslation as a way of generating new images (Moses with horns on his head!). We’re interested in thinking about the way that translation exposes the myths of singularity or originality and instead presents the poem as arising out of communal complexity. In the 20th and 21st centuries, translation has had a particularly wild and salutary influence on American poetry, and it is more important than ever to discover, make room for, and listen to voices outside this country and its self-regarding concerns. New Orleans is an ideal place to think about translation because of the city’s long and untamed history of the mixing of languages, musics, habits of talk: a gorgeous example of how the best  sounds and images come out of the collaborative linguistic étouffée. Each participant will speak briefly so we can have ample time for questions and conversation with panel-attendees.