The Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry in Translation 2020
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The Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation 2020 in association with The Stephen Spender Prize 2020 for poetry in translation in association with The Guardian Winners and commended 14-and-under COMMENDED Vishal Saha ‘When we were kids’ by Mario Benedetti (Uruguayan Spanish) Maddie Stoll ‘Hope’ FIRST SECOND THIRD by Ai Qing (Chinese) Hannah Kripa Jordan Grace Wu Caroline-Olivia Edwards Omar Ullah ‘And Yet – Our Tamil Life’ ‘muse of the moon’ ‘Versos Sencillos, Verso III’ ‘Lest they say something’ by Manushya Puthiran by Li Bai by José Martí by Kamini Roy (Bangla) (Tamil) (Chinese) (Cuban Spanish) 16-and-under COMMENDED Matilda Stepek ‘Passions of a Ghostly Fury’ by Ovid (Latin) Gabriela O’Keeffe ‘Tears for America’ (extract) by Michael Davitt (Irish) FIRST SECOND THIRD Megan Turtle Alessandro d’Attanasio Alice Garcia Kalmus ‘Do not leave your room’ ‘Saturday in the village’ ‘I write against an open window’ by Joseph Brodsky by Giacomo Leopardi by Mario Quintana (Russian) (Italian) (Brazilian Portuguese) 18-and-under COMMENDED Vassil Gilbert ‘A short summer night’ by Yosa Buson (Japanese) Jasper Maughan ‘Stay’ by Rainald Simon (German) FIRST SECOND THIRD Maryam Zaidi Olivia Flint Isobel Birkeland Cosima Deetman ‘The Lemons’ ‘The Schoolchildren’ ‘Writing rhymes with ‘Cyber Insomnia’ by Eugenio Montale by Pedro Serrano Sir Ishii’ by Martin Piekar (German) (Italian) (Mexican Spanish) by Qiu Jin (Chinese) Open COMMENDED Oliver Fallon ‘Conception of a New God’ (verses 1.33-47) by Kālidāsa (Sanskrit) Peter Frankopan ‘The Night of the Falling Apples’ FIRST SECOND THIRD by Bella Akhmadulina (Russian) Marta Ciechanowicz Ben Fergusson Stuart Lyons Christopher MacDonald ‘The Joy of Writing’ ‘dust’ ‘Wild West Cambridge ‘Twelve Todays’ by Wisława Szymborska by Nadja Küchenmeister at Dusk’ by Temu Suyan (Taiwanese Mandarin) by Xu Zhimo (Chinese) (Polish) (German) First-time entrant commendations Fiona Garratt Lorna Amor Mark Grainger ‘Colours’ ‘The one who speaks’ ‘The Evolution of Mankind’ by Cécile Coulon by Ling Yu by Erich Kästner (French) (Taiwanese Mandarin) (German) Polish Spotlight 10-and-under winners and commended WINNER COMMENDED Aaron Ferguson Maximilian Hempler ‘From dog to dog flea bobs’ ‘A sawfish’ by Zbigniew Machej by Łukasz Dębski 14-and-under WINNER COMMENDED Alexander Fletcher Michaela Konkolewska-Grybė ‘Opposing Winds’ ‘Tea Party’ by Tomasz Różycki by Agnieszka Frączek 18-and-under WINNER COMMENDED COMMENDED Hanna Kisiala Skye Slatcher Patrick Lynch ‘Homecoming’ ‘And that’s why’ ‘A song about the end of the world’ by Bronisław Maj by Adam Zagajewski by Czesław Miłosz 1 Introduction to the Stephen Spender Prize 2020 was always set to be a year of change for the especially grateful to our judges Khairani Barokka, Mary 2020 Stephen Spender Prize. We aimed to diversify Jean Chan, Daljit Nagra and Antonia Lloyd-Jones for a lively the languages represented and to increase entries from young and warm judging process, to our new prize coordinator people and emerging translators. To that end, we planned Jamie Lee Searle, to SST’s trustees and patrons, and to two new categories (16-and-under and first-time entrants), the prize’s funders the Rothschild Foundation, Polonsky booklets of suggested poems in multiple languages, and a Foundation, Old Possum’s Practical Trust, Sackler Trust, guide for new translators. But we could not have anticipated and Redcase Ltd. the real change that the prize underwent this year, as it We received a record number of entries this year, tangible adapted to life amidst a pandemic. Thanks to the support proof that poetry can sustain and inspire through difficult of our remarkable community of translators and poets, and times. This was particularly marked in the youth categories, new funding from Arts Council England, we were able to with more than double last year’s figure, and in the 80 transform the prize into a virtual programme that brought languages represented across all categories. The thirty-three the joy of poetry translation to isolated young people and translators and seventeen languages in these pages reflect the adults. Through video masterclasses and live illustration, vitality and diversity of those entries, and we’re delighted remote workshops and lesson plans, we beamed international to be able to award more prizes than ever before. We hope poetry into virtual classrooms and into homes, ensuring that that, just as for those working on their prize entries during this border-crossing, collaborative activity could be shared spring and summer 2020, this booklet enables readers to travel by as many people as possible during lockdown. vicariously to new lands and to hear new voices. Translators and poets from across the world were hugely generous with their time and advice, sharing ideas and Charlotte Ryland contributing texts to be included in our resources. I’m Director of the Stephen Spender Trust Outstanding Teachers 2020 he large numbers of youth entries teachers and schools this year are: in the open category have been T this year are due in particular to Nadia Siddiqui generously donated by Faber & Faber the encouragement and commitment of The Westgate School, Slough and Nine Arches Press. teachers across the UK, who went out The teachers were also invited to Sabine Pichout and colleagues of their way during school closures to nominate students to participate in a Swavesey Village College, enable and encourage their students to workshop for this year’s youth winners Cambridgeshire enter the prize. and commendees, which we ran for the This year we are delighted to intro- Kilda Giraudon and colleagues first time this year. We’re grateful to duce a new set of awards, to recognise Colyton Grammar School, Devon SST patron Kate Clanchy, who gave a teachers who show particular commit- Book prizes for these teachers and for workshop on multilingual poetry for ment to the prize. Our outstanding our first-time-entrant commendations the young translators. 2 Judges’ commentary – Khairani Barokka It was a treat to read the have a special category commending Alessandro d’Attanasio wins second entries for this year’s first-time entrants. This year, those for Giacomo Leopardi’s ‘Saturday Stephen Spender Prize. commendations go to Fiona Garratt in the village’ (Italian), sensitively There was a significant for Cécile Coulon’s ‘Colours’ (French), conjuring up ‘a day full of joy’, and increase in submissions Lorna Amor for Ling Yu’s ‘The one Alice Garcia Kalmus takes third for from last year, and this who speaks’ (Taiwanese Mandarin), Mario Quintana’s ‘I write against an is a remarkable achievement for each and Mark Grainger for Erich Kästner’s open window’ (Brazilian Portuguese), entrant, considering the pandemic. We ‘The Evolution of Mankind’ (German), jarring us with the ‘thought of light sincerely thank all of you who took the all of which showed sensitivity for fingers paint ing me!’. Commendations time to create, to submit, to submerge in ‘each subtle nuance’ (to quote Garratt’s go to Gabriela O’Keeffe’s translation of so many languages. We present to you translation), remarkable for it being an extract from Michael Davitt’s ‘Tears poems that moved and delighted us. their first attempts. for America’ (Irish), and Matilda Stepek In the open category, we celebrate In the 18-and-under category, we for Ovid’s ‘Passions of a Ghostly Fury’ first prize winner ‘Wild West Cambridge were uplifted by ‘the golden trumpets of (Latin), both passionate odes on politics At Dusk’ for its creative idiosyncrasies, sunlight’ in Maryam Zaidi’s translation and war. Stuart Lyons playfully presenting Xu of Eugenio Montale’s ‘The Lemons’ Finally, in the 14-and-under Zhimo’s charming descriptions of ‘lush (Italian), taken by how ‘the chain category, Hannah Kripa Jordan wins lush dense dense shagginess’, of sky unravels, takes flight, re-joins’ in Olivia first prize for the boisterous, charming as ‘mixed-star mosaic’. Then we have Flint’s translation of Pedro Serrano’s ‘And Yet – Our Tamil Life’ (Tamil) Marta Ciechanowicz’s translation of ‘The Schoolchildren’ (Mexican by Manushya Puthiran, followed by Wisława Szymborska’s ‘The Joy of Spanish), and felt deeply for Qiu Jin’s Grace Wu’s translation of Li Bai’s ‘muse Writing’, a journey of gratitude for the inner monologue as both ‘solitary sail- of the moon’ (Chinese), successfully written word, keenly translated from boat’ and ‘heroic’, in Isobel Birkeland’s conveying a self-avowed ‘mystical and Polish. In third place, Ben Fergusson’s translation of ‘Writing rhymes with ethereal atmosphere’, and third goes to translation from German of Nadja Sir Ishii’ (Chinese). Our commended Caroline-Olivia Edwards’ translation Küchenmeister’s ‘dust’, evoking ‘fever entries are all skilful: Vassil Gilbert for of Cuban poet José Martí’s ‘Versos feelings’ through intense sensorial Yosa Buson’s ‘A short summer night’ Sencillos, Verso III’, in which ‘the air description. The commended entries (Japanese), Jasper Maughan for Rainald sings and romps’. Commended are are Oliver Fallon for his translation Simon’s ‘Stay’ (German), and Cosima Vishal Saha, Maddie Stoll, and Omar from Sanskrit of Kālidāsa’s ‘Conception Deetman for Martin Piekar’s ‘Cyber Ullah, for Mario Benedetti’s ‘When we of a New God’ (verses 1.33–47), Peter Insomnia’ (German). were kids’ (Uruguayan Spanish), Ai Frankopan for Bella Akhmadulina’s For the 16-and-under category, Qing’s ‘Hope’ (Chinese), and Kamini ‘The Night of the Falling Apples’ Megan Turtle’s strong translation Roy’s ‘Lest they say something’ (Russian), and Christopher from Russian of Joseph Brodsky’s (Bangla), respectively – all containing MacDonald for Temu Suyan’s ‘Twelve ‘Do not leave your room’ – in which profundity in deceptively simple Todays’ (Taiwanese Mandarin), each ‘Outside nothing makes sense, language. resonant and considered. We also happiness included’ – wins first prize. Khairani Barokka 3 Judges’ commentary – Mary Jean Chan As a recurring judge silent, / you hear the hammer striking, of ‘A short summer night’ (Japanese), for the Stephen Spender you hear the saw / of the woodworker’.