Stephen Spender Prize 2020 Suggested poems for youth entries GUJARATI You can enter an English translation of any poem from any language for the Stephen Spender Prize. Below we have gathered some suggestions in particular aimed at youth entrants and their teachers. Take a look at our full set of resources for entering the prize. Find out more about the prize. Watch these films by previous winners of the prize 1 Stephen Spender Trust is a registered charity, number 1101304.
[email protected] www.stephen-spender.org General notes on translating Gujarati poetry • The Gujarati language permits sentence formation without a declared subject. For English it may sometimes be necessary to include a specific pronoun. Choose a pronoun according to what seems to work for the context. • Over the years, the language has evolved to include more specificity in words. With the advent of formal dictionaries, it is common to find “formal” or “approved” usage for terms. In looking up words, it is a good idea to check cognate or neighboring words, or to check where the word came from. • A great deal of Gujarati poetry is often sung or at least recited. This means that “spoken word” presentation works really well for this material. Often, the couplet structure is constructed so that the first quatrain, second quatrain and third quatrain can each be repeated before reciting the fourth quatrain. Also, a refrain is often repeated at the end of every stanza. This seems to be true for most lyrics and specific types such as the ghazal. Usually, the sung or recited version will have a note of the number of repetitions in parentheses.