Solitary Sunday
Blanket of snow
My gaze
My silence
（1989）
冬
ひとりの 休日に
いちめんの 雪
みつめる わたし
音のない わたし
（1989年）
I’m patting my dog’s head
over and over.
Something amazing is happening.
I am becoming happier and happier.
.（1988）
宇宙の法則
犬の頭をなでる
コロコロと なでる
なぜか 自分が うれしくなってくる
すごいことが おきている
（1988）
Ah!
How vacant it is
Wonderously vacant
Incessently vacant
But, my heart,
That’s OK
It’s a blessing
And indeed better
For just a litte longer
Stay this way and behave
(1988)
(Original Japanese poem)
まあ
なんて からっぽ
みごとに からっぽ
ずっと からっぽ
でも
それでいいの 私のこころよ
それが なにより
ほんとに なにより
今しばらくは
そこでおとなしく しておいで
To the countless stars in the sky,
Does being round
make it easier for you
to travel through the universe?
Or, while on your travels,
did the universe beat you,
making you rounder and rounder?
Or, is it the space between us
that simply makes you appear round?
Is keeping a good distance your secret?
お星さまへ
天空にまします数々のお星さま
丸ければ
宇宙で うまくまわっていられますか？
それとも
まわっているうちに
あの手この手で 宇宙が
丸くしにかかってくるんですか
それとも
何でもかんでも
遠くにおいてしまえば
丸く見えてくるもんですか？
つまり
距離をおくってことですね
Naomi’s poetry book has arrived. Naturally, we are very excited about this. The text is in Japanese and you can find out more about her book here. On that page you will also find a link for a pdf sample you can download and two audio tracks of Naomi reading her poems. You can purchase the book from us. Shipping is free, but we do not accept returns.
We are excited to announce our next book. This will be a paperback of 101 poems by Naomi. The book is in Japanese and is illustrated. It will go on sale by the end of September. Click on the image for a larger view.
This is one of a series of portraits I did for Translation: Bates International Poetry Festival, 2011. Carmen Elisabeth Puchianu is a wonderful poet from Romania. Her dynamic reading and humor were captivating. You can see her performance at the Translations website as well as the performances from the other seven poets that appeared. An iBook of the festival for the iPad can be downloaded here: Translations – Claudia Aburto Guzmán & William Ash. A pdf version of the book is on the Translations website. Click on the image for a lager view.
Translations: Bates International Poetry Festival 2011 documents this creative event featuring eight poets from around the world: Polina Barskova (Russia), Rhea Côté Robbins and Robert Farnsworth (United States), Francisca López (Spain), Naomi Otsubo (Japan), Danny Plourde (Canada), Carmen Elisabeth Puchianu (Romania), and Miguel Ángel Zapata (Peru). These poets spent five days performing their poetry in their native language and interacting with students and faculty on translations of their work. Contained in this volume are the original poems and the translations that came from this collaboration. Essays on the meaning of festivals, insights into translations, translation in pedagogy, and reflections on multilingualism from Enrique Yepes, Jane Costlow, Sarah Strong, Claudia Aburto Guzmán, Laura Balladur, Francisca López, and Raluca Cernahoschi round out this fascinating volume.
Use the following link to go to the Apple iBookstore: Translations – Claudia Aburto Guzmán & William Ash
