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Stephen Spender Prize 2006 for poetry in translation Stephen Spender Prize 2006 Joint winners of Winners of the Winners of the Matthew Spender’s 18-and-under category Open category 14-and-under prize Louisa Dawes First First from Aeneid II Alice Malin Jane Tozer, by Virgil ‘An Instant, Engraved’ ‘Lament of the (Latin) PRYOR DAVID by Wulf Kirsten Lovely Helmet-Fettler’ (German) by François Villon (medieval French) Joseph McCrudden Second Joint Second Catullus X Anna Thornton Kit Fan (Latin) ‘Pygmalion’ ‘Thatched House from Metamorphoses X Destroyed by an Autumn by Ovid Storm’ by Du Fu (Latin) (classical Chinese) Third Duncan Forbes ‘On the Ceiling’ Adrian Pascu-Tulbure by Michelangelo ‘Impromptu Quatrains’ Buonarotti by George Toparceanu (Italian) (Romanian) Commended Commended Commended Ella Kirsh Jeremy Cliffe Nigel Cooper from Aeneid II ‘Inventory of Places ‘Th’ Bowgy Mon’ by Virgil Fit for Love’ by C Knapp (Latin) by Ángel González (Alsace German) (Spanish) Henrietta Nehmzow Mark Leech ‘The Hen and the Carp’ Leo Davidson ‘Lament for the Bullfighter by Heinrich Seidel from Aeneid II Ignacio Sanchez Mejias’ (German) by Virgil by Lorca (Latin) (Spanish) John O’Shaughnessy-Gutierrez ‘Morning Awoke’ Amelia Penny Allen Prowle by Rafael Alberti from Antigone ‘The Swan’ (Spanish) by Sophocles by Baudelaire (ancient Greek) (French) Caleb Thompson Satires III Laura van Hove Cecilia Rossi by Juvenal, ‘Maths’ ‘Approximations’ and Catullus X and ‘A Briton’ by Alejandra Pizarnik (Latin) by Herman de Coninck (Dutch) (Spanish) Charles Wood ‘Nala and Damayanti’ by Vuara (Sanskrit) Introduction What a year! A record number of translations from a record 34 has made an immeasurable difference. Thanks must also go to the languages and almost a thousand requests for booklets. This year’s teachers who mobilised their classes of twelve and thirteen year judges – Josephine Balmer, Susan Bassnett, Wynn Thomas and olds; the exuberant and entertaining commentaries from this group Daniel Weissbort – faced a Herculean task over the summer but suggest that they enjoyed what for many was their first attempt at each read every entry before debating the winners with exemplary translation, and it is with them in mind that we are producing a tact. Thank you to them for their hard work and wisdom. translation handbook for teachers. More information can be found The Stephen Spender Memorial Trust is enormously grateful at the back of this booklet. to the Drue Heinz Trust, which has so generously sponsored the Robina Pelham Burn prize for the past two years, and to The Times, whose promotion Director, Stephen Spender Memorial Trust Judges’ comments The experience of judging educationally sidelined. Indeed it was There was some excellent the Stephen Spender cheering to see so many entrants in this work submitted this year in Prize for the first time has category choosing to enter poems far from the younger categories and been both fascinating and their A level syllabuses, such as Laura van the judges found much to rewarding. There was an Hove’s translations from Dutch. commend. Thankfully, the impressively wide range In the Open category, despite many tendency to use archaisms of interests and languages sure-footed entries, we found ourselves was not much in evidence, on offer, while the mostly thoughtful and moving away from classical Greek and and in contrast, a number of translators incisive commentaries revealed an admirable Latin to classical French and Chinese, with opted to give a very contemporary feel enthusiasm for the task of translation, Jane Tozer’s wonderfully feisty versions of to ancient works. We had hip hop and whether from students, professionals or Villon and Kit Fan’s movingly elegant Du rap Catullus, references to Pete Doherty promising first-timers. With such poetic Fu proving that poetry sometimes needs in ancient Rome and some startlingly diversity before us, it was imperative to judge to make us both laugh and cry. It was contemporary renderings of ancient Greek. the translation per se and not be swayed by good, too, to see so many contemporary Interestingly, as can be seen from any opinion of the original poem, putting translations making an appearance on the these examples, some of the most exciting aside our own, all very different, poetic winners’ list, with excellent versions of translating was of classical poetry, while tastes. In addition we realised how difficult it German, French and Spanish including some of the dullest was of nineteenth is to decide the relative merits of, say, a short, a highly original Erl King, a luminous and twentieth century French poets. This simple poem against an extract from a longer Baudelaire, a sensual Lorca and a thought- raises a question: is the teaching of classical and often more complicated work. provoking Pizarnik. I was also impressed literature now geared to discovering This was particularly the case for the by translations from modern Greek, contemporary references, and is this youngest entrants; how to compare a including Bob Newman’s version of beginning to come out in new and vigorous beautifully executed version of a German George Seferis’ technically challenging ways? In contrast, is the lack of excitement nursery rhyme with a competent extract ‘Pantoum’, which, in a strong field, didn’t evident in much of the translation from from Greek tragedy? It was heartening, quite make the final list. On a slightly French a sign of uneasiness with French however, to see so many entrants engaging less encouraging note, after the excellent literature that comes from a very reduced with the poetics of their original, finding efforts of school students in the previous syllabus at GCSE and A level? impressively creative strategies to reproduce categories, it was disappointing to see What was clear in many of the entries in semantic, structural and even phonic how few university students and younger the 18-and-under and 14-and-under groups, effects. In the end our prizewinners in the translators had entered. Poetry translation however, was some very good rendering 14-and-under category both offer very it seems (or at least the entering of poetry of sonoric patterns and a willingness to different versions of classical literature, a translation prizes) is the preserve of the experiment with sound and rhythm. This rap Catullus and a stately Virgil, reflecting retired, perhaps reflecting the time-greedy may reflect the involvement of young the unique possibilities that classical nature of the task. people with popular music and oral culture, translation allows. Such freedom is further All in all I found that the judging process but was both refreshing and very apposite witnessed in Ella Kirsh’s commended taught me much about my own profession. for many of the poems chosen. version of the Laocoön story from the In particular I understood more fully how In all categories, there were some very Aeneid which makes a highly readable difficult a task we set ourselves and just how good, very thoughtful comments on the poem in its own right. treacherous language can be; how a single processes of translating. Entrants had clearly Extracts from classical epic also figured jarring word can throw an entire piece out spent a lot of time thinking about how prominently on the 18-and-under prize- of kilter, emphasising the need, as in all they had approached their poets, and it was winners’ list with Anna Thornton’s literary endeavour, for constant editing and fascinating in some cases to read about the translation of a passage from Ovid’s revision. That said, when everything chimes very personal impulses that had led to the notoriously tricky Metamorphoses one of together – diction, tone, music – the result selection of one poet over another. Some my own favourites. In contrast, our winner, is inspiring, enriching our lives, as so many entrants submitted translations from several Alice Malin, gave us a welcome example of of the commentaries testified, as well as our languages, some focused on a particular a short poem exquisitely translated from literary tradition. poet. We were delighted to see translations modern German, a language that has been Josephine Balmer from a broad range of languages, including 3 Judges’ comments Sanskrit, Old Manx and Old Norse, also a of the saying, the vividness of image and competition of this kind would have been number of fine translations from Welsh. We phrase, that they scanted attention to the rewarding enough had it made possible only hope in future years to see more translations generative music and movement of the encounters with translations such as these. from other minority languages of the British original text. Isles, both ancient and modern. For the adjudicator another pleasure, all M Wynn Thomas The issue of how translators select their the more welcome because unlooked for, is material is an intriguing one. Some entrants provided by the commentary each entrant I was again impressed by opted for very well-known poems, others is invited to submit. Not only is this often a the range of approaches, for unknown work and a few for poems lucid reflection on the process of translation and especially by the that had never been translated into English as experienced by the individual, it can also interest in translating before. We discussed the relative merits of – and even more valuably – take the form of an classical Latin and Greek such a selection: is it more challenging to explanation of the personal significance of the texts. In addition, there attempt a poem that is well-known and poem for the translator. At a time when poetry were some enterprising of which there may even be a canonical has become an increasingly marginalised art translations from Sanskrit, for instance, translation, or is it harder to translate a form, relegated primarily to the dreary confines which made me regret my own linguistic work for which there are no precedents? In of the education syllabus, to discover how ignorance.