Thirty-four Ways of Looking at the Moon in Warsaw
For this issue of Loch Raven Review, I dreamed of a gathering around a poem, like in my youth when we sat in a circle around a fire and sang. Some knew the words and the tunes, some only bits, but all were eager to experience the togetherness, the challenges, and the possibilities. So, I chose a poem that called to me across time and distance. I invited others to join me on this venture, and here we are, five months later, sharing the poem in a multitude of tongues, each of us understanding maybe only one, or a few, but together we understand them all. We follow the lines, puzzle over the words, make guesses and discoveries, and learn the tune as we go. We make friends, learn about their languages and cultures, assisted by new and old acquaintances, and the internet.
We start with the Polish original by Lidia Kosk, “Z okna mojego mieszkania,” my English translation of the poem, and a video featuring both languages: Polish, recited by the author, and English, performed by the McDonogh Upper School Choir under the direction of the composer, Philip A. Olsen. He imagined the narrator’s experience during and after World War II, the ruined city of Warsaw, its return to life. Ryan Luterman-Sevel’s multimedia rendition illustrates Olsen’s interpretation.
None of the translators saw the video beforehand; their translations were mostly their own interpretations. A few translators asked me questions. For example: is the “he” in the poem a man or the moon? Learning that in Polish the moon is a masculine gender they challenged themselves to address the poetic dichotomy. And the last line opens wide to poetic interpretation.
The eight Slavic translations are derived directly from the Polish original. In a few instances the reader can see that the translator knew and considered my English rendition. Similarities and differences are due to language structure, grammar, and alphabet, but also to the personae of the translators—their reading of the poem, of the context, their insight. The final effect is the richness of voices around the campfire.
The translations are organized by language groups, based on language trees found in Wikipedia. It was a bit of a challenge to classify them. I encourage readers to take a look at those trees and the branches to situate the different renditions.
The community of translators is formed from several populations. When I became LRR’s Poetry Translations Editor in 2011, I set a course to introduce poets from all over the world writing in languages other than English, together with their translators. Side by side, the originals with their English translations—one language per issue. I started with Spanish and, twenty-two languages later, showcased Philippine-language poets. In addition, there were two sections featuring translations of one poet’s works. In 2019, for LRR Vol. 15, I conceived a special translation project with two poems by Grace Cavalieri rendered into eleven languages on the occasion of her inauguration as the tenth Poet Laureate of Maryland.
With eleven of the translators presented here, I worked on the first multilingual project Szklana góra/Glass Mountain (2017), showcasing the titular poem in twenty-two languages. The second edition of the book (2019) was enriched with QR codes that provide the reader the opportunity to listen to the poem in the original Polish and all the translations. (If you click this link, you can hear eighteen of the languages presented here, though for a different poem by Lidia Kosk.)
Multiple readings from the book, my presentations about it, and the warm reception they elicited brought on board more enthusiasts. They saw and heard the translations, heard me talk about the project, and joined the circle. I champion languages less published, several of them featured in LRR (for example, Catalan, contemporary Mayan, Kurdish, Vietnamese) and minority languages, some also included here, such as Breton, Occitan, and Kashubian.
Among the participants, sixteen live, write, and read in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia. They include professional translators, poets, writers, teachers, musicians, a small press founder, an engineer, and a biochemist; eleven are new to LRR; and some are new to the adventure of translating. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, I used to see many of them regularly, at readings, workshops, and DC-ALT meetings. Of course, in the world of translation one expects translators to come from a wide variety of countries, which is certainly true of the circle involved in this project, as fewer than one-third of us live in the country of our birth.
I’m proud to have gathered around this poem such a diverse group of translators. Poets, translators, readers, join us in the circle. Venture into translating, maybe into languages we have not featured yet. All of us at the Loch Raven Review will be happy to hear from you.
Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka
Loch Raven Review, Translations Editor
.
Lidia Kosk
Z okna mojego mieszkania
Nad domem naprzeciwko,
co oknami patrzy ku memu oknu,
zawiesił się księżyc,
wśród skał i kamieni z obłoków.
I wisiał długo, wytrwale,
aż zapomniałam, że z nim zerwałam
na stałe.
Aż zapomniałam, że w duszy
już tak dawno brak grania,
aż cała byłam z zapamiętania.
.
Translated into English by Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka
From the Window of My Apartment
Above the apartment house,
whose windows exchange looks with mine,
the moon got stuck
among the rocks and boulders of clouds.
He kept hanging there, stubbornly,
until I forgot that I had broken with him
permanently.
Until I forgot that my soul
did not sing anymore,
until all of me was a song.
.
Translated into music and visuals by Philip A. Olsen and Ryan Luterman-Sevel.
.
Translated into Kashubian by Dariusz Majkòwsczi
Z òkna mòjégò mieszkaniô
Nad bùdinkã naprocëm,
co zdrzi òknama w mòje òkno,
zawiesył sã miesądz,
westrzód kamiznów i kamów z blónów.
I wisôł długò, òbstójno,
jaż jô zabëła, że móm z nim zerwóné
na wiedno.
Jaż jem zabëła, że w dëszë
ju tak dôwno felëje jigraniô,
jaż całô jô bëła ze zapamiãtaniô.
.
Translated into Czech by Roman Kostovski
Z okna mého bytu
Nad domem naproti,
kde do okna mi oknami nahlížel
měsíc se pověsil
mezi skály a balvany mraků
A visel tam dlouho, vytrvale,
až jsem zapomněla, že jsme se sním rozešla
natrvalo.
Až jsem zapomněla, že jsem si v duši
tak dlouho nezahrala,
až jsem se nabila vzpomínáním.
.
Translated into Croatian by Andrea Jurjević
S prozora moga stana
Nadvijen nad kućom
u moje okno gleda
viseći mjesec, obješen
između stijena i kamenja oblaka
Dugo je visio, ustrajno
dok nisam zaboravila da smo prekinuli
za stalno.
Dok nisam zaboravila da mi u duši
odavno nema pjesme,
dok nisam sasvim poludjela za njim.
.
Translated into Serbian by Vladan Stamenković
Сa прозора могa стана
Изнад куће прекопута,
што прозорима гледа у мој прозор,
застао је месец,
међу стенама и камењем од облака.
Дуго је тако висио, истрајно,
све док нисам заборавила да сам с њим
заувек раскрстила.
Док нисам заборавила да се из моје душе
одавно није чула песма,
и док се нисам у песму цела претворила.
.
Translated into Bulgarian by Lyubomir Nikolov
От прозореца
Над къщата отсреща,
която със прозорците си във прозореца ми гледа,
висеше месецът
след облачни скали и камъни.
Вися там дълго, упорито,
докато забравих, че съм скъсала със него
завинаги.
Докато забравих, че сърцето
не е трепвало с години,
докато самата аз в забрава се превърнах.
.
Translated into Belarusian by Victor Yaznevich
З акна маёй кватэры
Над домам насупраць,
што вокнамi глядзiць на маё акно,
завесiўся месяц,
мiж скал і каменняў з аблокаў.
І доўга вісеў, трывала,
аж забылася, што з ім рассталася
на стала.
Аж забылася, што ў душы
ўжо даўно не стае iграння,
аж ўся я была з забывання.
.
Translated into Russian by Natalia Romanova
Из окна моей квартиры
Над домом напротив,
чьи окна глядятся в мои,
в небе месяц повис
среди скал и камней облаков.
Он упрямо и долго висел,
пока я не забыла, что с ним
порвала навсегда.
Пока я не забыла что нет
песни в сердце моем,
пока все во мне песней не стало.
.
Translated into Ukrainian by Elisabeth Walther
З вікна моєї домівки
Над домем навпроти,
що дивится вікнами на моє вікно,
затримався місяць
посеред скель та каміння з хмар.
І висів довго, наполегливо
що я аж забула, що розлучилася з ним
назавжди.
Що я аж забула, що у серці
вже не лунають звуки музики,
які вже не зможу пригадати.
.
Translated into Greek by Ninetta Matsa Feldman
Απο το Παραθυρο του Διαμερισματος Μου
Επανω απο την πολυκατοικια
της οποιας τα παραθυρα ανταλλασουν βλεμματα με τα δικα μου
το φεγγαρι πιαστηκε
αναμεσα στα λιθαρια και τους βραχους των συννεφων.
Εμεινε εκει κρεμασμενο, πεισματαρικα,
μεχρις οτου ξεχασα οτι ειχα διακοψει το δεσμο μου μαζι του
για παντα.
Μεχρις οτου ξεχασα οτι η ψυχη μου
δεν τραγουδουσε πια,
μεχρις οτου ολο μου το ειναι ειχε γινει ενα τραγουδι.
.
Translated into Irish by Kathleen Corcoran with help from Gerry Corcoran
Ó Fhuinneog Mo Arasan
Os cionn an árasáin,
a bhfeiceann a bhfuinneoga a cheile,
stop an gealach
i measc carraigeacha agus bhollain na scamaill.
Choinnigh sé crochta san áit chéanna go docht,
go dti go dhearna mé dearmad gur bhris mé leis
go buan.
Go dti go dhearna mé dearmad
nar chanadh m’anam,
go dti gur amhrán a bhi ionam.
.
Translated into Breton by Padrig Dréan
Dre ar fenestr
A-dreist ar c’hendi
a zo e fenestri ha re ma hani é sellet an eil re doc’h ar re arall,
e chomas staget ar loar
E-touezh kleger ar c’hogus.
chom a reas a-spign aze, pennek,
ken na ankouazan e oan dispartiet a-zoc’h ar paotr-se
da virviken.
Ken na ankouazan ne gane ket
ma eneañv ken,
ken na oa daet ma c’horf a-bezh da vout ur sonenn.
.
Translated into Romanian by Diana Manole
De la fereastra apartamentului meu
Deasupra blocului de vizavi,
ale cărui ferestre se uită la ale mele,
luna a rămas înţepenită
între nori bolovănoşi.
A tot stat acolo, încăpăţânată,
până când am uitat că o abandonasem
pentru totdeauna.
Până când am uitat că sufletul meu
nu mai cânta,
până când m-am preschimbat în cântec.
.
Translated into Spanish by Patricia Bejarano Fisher
Desde mi ventana
En lo alto del bloque de apartamentos
cuyas ventanas se miran con las mías
se ha quedado atascada la luna
entre rocas y cúmulos de nubes.
Se quedó allí, insistente,
hasta que olvidé que habíamos roto
para siempre.
Hasta que olvidé que mi alma
había dejado de cantar,
hasta que yo toda fui canción.
.
Translated into French by Keith Cohen
Par la fenêtre de mon appartement
Au-dessus de l’immeuble,
dont les fenêtres échangent des regards avec les miens,
la lune s’est coincée
parmi les roches et les rochers de nuages.
Elle n’arrêtait pas de traîner là, obstinément,
jusqu’à ce que j’ai oublié que j’avais rompu avec elle,
définitivement.
Jusqu’à ce que j’ai oublié que mon âme
ne chantait plus,
jusqu’à ce que tout en moi était une chanson.
.
Translated into Catalan by Sílvia Aymerich-Lemos
De la finestra del meu pis estant
Al cim del bloc de pisos
que té les finestres que s’esguarden amb la meva,
la lluna quedà travada
entre rocs i grops de nuvolades.
S’estigué allà tossudament penjada,
fins que vaig oblidar que havíem trencat
per sempre més.
Fins que vaig oblidar que la meva ànima
havia deixat de cantar,
fins que tota jo era cant.
.
Translated into Languedoc Occitan by Yanick Martin
Dins de la fenèstra
Al dessús de l’immòble,
que las fenèstras escambian d’agaches amb la meuna,
la luna s’es cunhada
entre las pèiras e las ròcas de las nívols.
E contunhèt de s’arrapar, obstinadament,
fins qu’oblidèsse qu’aviái copat amb ela
definitivament.
Fins qu’oblidèsse que mon arma
cantava pas mai,
fins que mon èsser foguèsse cançon.
.
Translated into Italian by Sabine Pascarelli
Dalla Finestra del mio Appartamento
Sopra la palazzina,
le cui finestre scambiano sguardi con le mie,
la luna venne incastrata
tra rocce e amassi di nuvole.
Ci restò appesa cocciutamente,
finché dimenticai di aver rotto con lei
per sempre.
Finché dimenticai che l’anima mia
non cantava più,
finché tutto di me era un canto.
.
Translated into Norwegian by Paul T. Hopper
Fra min leilighets vindu
Over bygningen på den andre siden,
hvis vinduer ser i mitt vindu,
månen hang
blant klipper og steiner i skyene.
Og hang lenge, iherdig,
til jeg glemte at jeg hadde brytet med ham
for alltid.
Til jeg glemte at i sjelen
for lenge siden manglet det på lek,
til jeg var helt i erindringer.
.
Translated into Swedish by Paul T. Hopper
Ur min vånings fönster
Över byggnaden på den andra sidan,
vars fönster tittar i mitt fönster,
hängde månen
bland klippor och stenar i skyarna.
Och hängde länge, envis,
tills jag glömde att jag hade brutit med honom
för alltid.
Tills jag glömde att i själen
för länge sedan lektes inte,
tills jag var helt i minnen.
.
Translated into Dutch by Helena Van Brande
Vanuit het raam van mijn appartement
Boven het huis aan de overkant,
wiens ramen door mijn ramen kijken,
is de maan neergestort
tussen de stenen en rotsen van wolken.
En hij hing daar, aanhoudend,
tot ik vergat dat ik het had uitgemaakt met hem
voor altijd.
Tot ik vergat dat mijn ziel
niet meer speelde,
tot ik volledig lied werd.
.
Translated into German by Peter Beicken
Vom Fenster meiner Wohnung
Über meinem Wohnhaus,
dessen Fenster mit mir Blicke tauschen,
ist der Mond eingeklemmt
zwischen Felsen und Bergen von Wolken.
Da hängt er fest, störrisch,
bis ich vergaß, dass ich mich entzweit hatte mit ihm
auf immer.
Bis ich vergaß, dass meine Seele
nicht mehr sang,
bis ich ganz Gesang ward.
.
Translated into Scots by Robin Thoms
Tooting ben the Windae
Abune thae tenements,
whose windaes gawk at oors
the moon was lowing
in thae clouds of clachs and clachans.
He wis hinging, sleekit-looking,
til I canna mind the hail jing-bang
forever and for aye.
Til I canna mind my soul resolves
tae wanna sing nae mair,
til I was fou in sang.
.
Translated into Finnish by Irmeli Kuehnel
Huoneistoni Ikkunasta
Kerrostalon yläpuolella,
jonka ikkunat vaihtavat katsonsa kanssani
kuu on juutunut
kivisten ja kivilohkareiden pilvien keskellä.
Hän roikkui siellä, itsepäisesti,
kunnes unohdin etta olin lopettanut hänen kanssa
lopullisesti.
Kunnes unohdin sieluni
ei laulannut enään,
kunnes kaikki sielussani oli laulu.
.
Translated into Hungarian by Paul Sohar
Lakásom ablakából
Afelett a bérház felett,
aminek az ablakai szemeznek az enyémmel,
a hold megrekedt
a felhők kövei és sziklái között.
Ott kapaszkodott, konokul,
addig amíg elfeljettem, hogy már elhagytam
örökre.
Addig amíg elfelejtettem hogy a lelkem
soha többé nem énekel,
addig amíg egy ének lett belőlem.
.
Translated into Chinese by Xuhua Lucia Liang
公寓的窗戶
高懸在公寓的樓頂，
那裡一扇扇的窗戶與我的遙遙相望，
在大朵大朵的雲山雲崖之間，
月兒凝固了。
他固執地懸掛在那裡，
致使我遺忘了我與他，
已經
永遠決絕。
致使我忘卻我的魂靈已不再歌唱，
致使我的一切已凝固為一首歌。
.
Translated into Japanese by Shinko Fushimi
アパートの窓から
わたしの部屋の窓と向かい窓の
アパートの上の空
月が架かっていた
沸き立つ巨大な雲の岩の中
彼はずっとそこに架かり続けた、断固として
わたしが永遠に彼と別れたことを忘れるまで
わたしの魂がもう歌わないことを忘れるまで
わたしのすべてが歌になるまで
.
Translated into Filipino by Kristine Ong Muslim
Mula sa Bintana ng Aking Apartment
Sa ibabaw ng paupahang bahay,
na ang mga bintana ay nakatingin sa bintana ko,
ang buwan ay napilitang manahan
sa mga nag-uumpugang bato ng mga ulap.
Doon ay lagi na siyang nakatambay, nagmamatigas,
hanggang nakalimutan kong nakipaghiwalay na ako sa kanya
ng pang habang buhay.
Hanggang nakalimutan ko na ang aking kaluluwa
ay matagal ng naubusan ng awit,
hanggang ang kabuuan ko ay isa ng awit.
.
Translated into Turkish by Zehra Çırak transcribed by Derya Suzen
Evimin penceresinden
Binamın üstündeki,
pencereler ile göz göze olduğumda,
ay sıkışmışdı
bulut kayalar ve bulutdağlar arasında.
Orada asılı kaldı, inatça,
ayrıldığımı unutmuşken
temelli.
Unutmuşken, ruhumun artık
şarkı söylemediğini,
tümden bir şarkı olmaya vardım.
.
Translated into Amharic by Yealembirhan Alemu
ከቤቴ መስኮት
ከፍ ብሎ ካለው ከቤቴ መስኮት፤
ምስሌ ከምስሉ ከሚግባቡበት፤
በደመና ቋጥኝ ታጅባ፤
ጨረቃ ረጋች ጥላኝ ላትገባ ።
በዚያ መሃል ውዴ ተከለ ምስሉን፤
የትም ላይሄድ አፀና ቃሉን፤
እረስቼ ለዘላለም መለየቱን፤
እረስቼ ነፍሴ ዝማሬ ማቆሟን፤
ሙሉ እኔነቴ ዝማሬ እስከሚሆን።
.
Translated into Arabic by Faiza Sultan
من إطلالة نافذة شقتي
عُلق القمر
بين أحجارٍ وصخورٍ من غيوم
فوق البناية السكنية
التي تتبادل نوافذها النظرات مع نافذتي
بقيّ هناك
معانداً مُعلقاً
إلى أن نسيت أنني قطعتُ الوصل معه
للأبد
إلى أن نسيتُ إن روحي لم تعد تغني
إلى أن كُلّي أصبح أغنية.
.
© Lidia Kosk, Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka, Philip A. Olsen, Ryan Luterman-Sevel, Dariusz Majkòwsczi, Roman Kostovski, Andrea Jurjević, Vladan Stamenković, Lyubomir Nikolov, Victor Yaznevich, Natalia Romanova, Elisabeth Walther, Ninetta Matsa Feldman, Kathleen Corcoran, Padrig Dréan, Diana Manole, Patricia Bejarano Fisher, Keith Cohen, Sílvia Aymerich-Lemos, Yanick Martin, Sabine Pascarelli, Paul T. Hopper, Helena Van Brande, Peter Beicken, Robin Thoms, Irmeli Kuehnel, Paul Sohar, Xuhua Lucia Liang, Shinko Fushimi, Kristine Ong Muslim, Zehra Çırak, Yealembirhan Alemu, and Faiza Sultan
Lidia Kosk, a poet, storyteller, educator, humanitarian. Author of thirteen books of poetry and prose, and two anthologies. Collaborated with her husband, Henryk P. Kosk, on the two-volume Poland’s Generals: A Popular Biographical Lexicon (1998, 2001). Her collaboration with Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka, resulted in two bilingual volumes: Niedosyt/Reshapings (2003) and Słodka woda, słona woda/Sweet Water, Salt Water (2009). The latter was translated into Japanese by Hiroko Tsuji and Izumi Nakamura, and published in Japan in 2016. Among her recent books are: Szklana góra/Glass Mountain (Komograf, 2017&2019) and Meadows of Memory: Poetry and Prose by Lidia Kosk (Apprentice House, 2019), both edited and translated by Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka; and Konie bez skrzydeł (LSW, 2021). Like many of her generation, Lidia Kosk came of age during World War II and survived first the Nazi occupation of Poland, and then the Stalinist regime imposed on Poland by the Soviet Union. Her poetry bears witness to history and at the same time is an affirmation of life. Lidia’s poems and prose have been published in literary journals and anthologies in the US, Poland, Russia and Japan; reviewed in English-, Polish- and Japanese-language publications; featured on public radio in the US and Poland, in Multiple Versions and in multimedia video presentations. Philip A. Olsen arranged a series of her poems into choral compositions as the “Polish Triptych,” performed among others in the US, Peru, Portugal, and Spain. Sal Ferrantelli composed a score for “Szklana góra,” which had its world premiere in Washington, DC, in 2019. Lidia resides in Warsaw, Poland, where she leads literary workshops and the Poets’ Theater. For more see: gm.kosk.xyz/ and danutakk.wordpress.com/ about-lidia-kosk/
Translators
Yealembirhan Alemu grew up in Ethiopia where Amharic is one of the official languages. Professionally, he is a civil engineer in Maryland, USA. He likes poetry, music, nature, discovering other cultures, and socializing. Sometimes he writes poems in Amharic. He believes in simplicity and equality: “To live is to be ‘live’ not alive! Be live! Go live!”
Sílvia Aymerich-Lemos, poet, translator trained in several languages and literatures, and prose writer with a degree in Biology, has translated into Catalan the work of Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and others. Her work appears in poetry anthologies, and she has contributed self-translated poems into French, English, and Spanish to several literary publications. Latest contributions of poetry translation into Catalan include Preludio e corrente per Antoni by Gilberto Isella, Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk, and Murmur by Menna Elfyn. Her poems and translations appeared in Catalan-language poets LRR Vol. 13. She is the founder of Multiple Versions, a project of literary cooperative translations.
Peter Beicken has published versions of his work in German and translated poetry, prose, and essays into English. He published widely on Franz Kafka, Ingeborg Bachmann, Anna Seghers, and filmmaker Wim Wenders. He authored several books of poetry in German. Having edited two magazines for literature in German in the U.S., he also has published many poems, prose pieces, and essays in journals and anthologies, predominantly in German and in English as well. His poems and translations appeared in German-language poets LRR Vol. 16.
Zehra Çirak moved from Istanbul to Karlsruhe at age three. From 1982 to 2014, she worked with her late husband, artist Jürgen Walter, in Berlin. Awards include Friedrich Hölderlin Young Author Prize, Adelbert von Chamisso Prize, and Tübingen Stadtschreiberin. In 2018 Çirak came to Northern Arizona University, thanks to a GERMAN CAMPUS WEEKS grant. For over a decade, Çirak has conducted regular literary writing workshops in schools and at universities. Her poems appeared in German-language poets LRR Vol. 16.
Keith Cohen is a writer and translator who lived and taught for five years in France. He has published a novel (Natural Settings), and his stories have appeared in The Paris Review and The Iowa Review. A former professor of comparative literature, he is the author of Film and Fiction and related non-fiction works, as well as translations by Hélène Cixous (“The Laugh of the Medusa”) and the collective work A History of Virility. His latest translation of a poem into French appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk. He is currently translating poems by the Haitian poet Denizé Lauture.
This is Kathleen Corcoran’s first attempt at translating a poem from English into Irish. She appreciates the input from Gerry Corcoran of Banagher, Ireland, who is fluent in Irish. Her experiences as a poet have also been helpful. Author of an award-winning chapbook, Bloodroot, and a Pushcart Prize nominee, she has received two Maryland Arts Council grants for her poetry collections. Her poems have appeared in Gargoyle, PatersonLiterary Review, Tar River Poetry, Passager, Loch RavenReview, and others. She is happy to celebrate Lidia Kosk’s work by joining those who make her poem sing in many different languages.
Padrig (Patrick) Dréan, after studies in mathematics and an MA in Breton, is devoted to passing on the Breton language as an adult education trainer and from his position as president of the cultural organization Kerlenn Sten Kidna. Author of a number of articles, short stories, poems, An avel en ho plev, a novel by four hands, An tamm papir, a metaphysical humorous newspaper and De loen en large, largely stemming from his work gathering Breton expressions from the elders. Translates and does simultaneous interpretation into and from Breton. Joined the Multiple Versions Project in 2013.
Patricia Bejarano Fisher is an experienced translator, developer of language learning materials, and language instructor. Co-translator of Maria Teresa Ogliastri’s South Pole/Polo Sur (Settlement House, 2011) and From the Diary of Madame Mao (unpublished), her work has appeared in poetry journals and collections, including Knocking on the Door of the White House: Latino Poets in Washington DC (Zozobra, 2017), and Laura Shovan’s The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary (WLB, 2016). Her translations appeared in LRR Vol. 7. Her latest translation of a poem into Spanish appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk.
Ninetta Matsa Feldman was born and grew up in Greece. She survived the Holocaust with her immediate family by fleeing to the mountains. They lost almost all the extended family to Nazi Germany’s barbarism. She studied French in the French Academy of Athens and immigrated to the U.S. in 1959. She received a BS in Psychology and a Master’s in Teaching. She taught science in public and private schools. She has worked as a volunteer/translator of testimonies and interviews of Holocaust survivors at the U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Shinko Fushimi is a professor of Aikoku Gakuen University in Japan. Her research interests include the comparative study of translation of waka(tanka) in The Tale of Genji; modern Japanese literature in the light of modern Western critical theories; and Jane Austen. She received the Academic Award of the Institute for the Synergy of Arts and Sciences in 2009 for her comparative study of The Tale of Genji. She has presented her work in various international poetry conferences, including DC-ALT in 2015, Haiku North America, and World Congress of Poets.
Paul Thorfinn Hopper is a former teacher, now a government translator. He has published poems and translations in magazines, including Texas Quarterly, Pivot, and The Federal Poet. His latest translation of a poem into Norwegian appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk (Komograf, Poland, 2017, 2019). Hobbies include learning and using foreign languages.
Andrea Jurjević is a Croatian poet, literary translator and educator. She is the author of Small Crimes, winner of the 2015 Philip Levine Prize, and Nightcall (Willow Springs Editions, 2021). Her book-length translations from Croatian include Mamasafari (Diálogos Press, 2018) and Dead Letter Office (The Word Works, 2020).
Danuta E. Kosk-Kosicka is the author of Oblige the Light (2015), winner of the fifth Clarinda Harriss Poetry Prize, and Face Half-Illuminated (2015). Translator and editor for four books by Lidia Kosk, including the multilingual Szklana góra/Glass Mountain (2017 & 2019). She has translated other Polish poets, such as Ernest Bryll, Wisława Szymborska, Stanisław Lem, and Grzegorz Białkowski, as well as Josephine Jacobsen and Maryland Poets Laureate Lucille Clifton, Linda Pastan, and Grace Cavalieri. Published in Notre Dame Review, Spillway, Subtropics, Tupelo Quarterly, and elsewhere. More at: danutakk.wordpress.com
Roman Kostovski, M.A. in Russian Language and Linguistics from the University of Maryland. Taught Czech at George Washington University and worked as a Central and Southeastern European Media Analyst at Georgetown University. Translator for four books, including Arnost Lustig’s Fire on Water (Northwestern University Press). Published in Absinthe: New European Writing and Poet Lore, among others. He translates poetry and prose from Czech and multiple other Slavic languages into English. In 2013, he founded Plamen Press, a print-on-demand publishing house for the promotion of literature from Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe throughout the English-speaking world.
Irmeli Kuehnel, “Tipi,” translates Finnish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Dutch into English. Authored a dual language German-English book on biography of Georg Simon Ohm, creator of Ohm’s Law on Electrical Resistance; authored and published two scholarly studies on German medieval epics. Extensive experience with genealogy translations in Finnish, Norwegian, and German. PhD focused on Medieval Studies in German; can read and translate Middle High German. Published a dual-language Swedish-English work “The Swedes in America” authored in 1885 that includes songs and poems that speak to Scandinavian immigration.
Xuhua Lucia Liang, pen name Cao Yu, was born on a beautiful island in southern China-Amoy, Fujian Province. In 1986 she went to study at State University of New York at Stony Brook where she received her Ph.D. in Latin American Literature. In the U.S. while dedicating herself to the teaching and research of Spanish language and literature, she wrote poems in Chinese, Spanish and English. In her poetry, she developed a unique style which echoes the voices of Chinese, Hispanic and American cultures. Her translations appeared in LRR Vol. 15.
Ryan Luterman-Sevel is a professional videographer and editor working in Baltimore. He received his bachelors in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, where he won several awards for his efforts submitted to the university’s Filmmakers Club. He’s worked on projects of every scale, from family weddings to multi-million dollar live financial broadcasts. He directed and produced two videos showcasing Lidia Kosk’s poems “Obligations” and “The Clock’s Ticking.”
Dariusz Majkòwsczi, PhD in Comparative Literature. Author or co-author of several books in Kashubian and Polish, translator of many publications into Kashubian. Member of the Kashubian Language Council. Editor-in-chief of the monthly “Pomerania” (2012-2016). Editor of the magazine “Zwónk kaszëbsczi” (2004-2005) and the literary magazine “Stegna”. He worked at the Museum of Kashubian-Pomeranian Literature and Music, and from 2006 to 2010 in Radio Kaszëbë; in 2006 was co-host of the television program “Kaszëbë.”
Diana Manole is a Romanian-born Canadian scholar, writer, and literary translator. In her home country, she published nine collections of poetry, short fiction, and plays, earned 14 literary awards, including from the Romanian Writers’ Union and the Association of Writers in Bucharest. Her poetry was published in English and/or in translation in the UK, the US, Belarus, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, Albania, China, France, Romania, and Canada. Diana’s poems and translations also appeared in Romanian-language poets LRR Vol. 12, and her Romanian translation was included in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk.
Yanick Martin, a graduated dentist from the University of Montpellier since 1985, he gave up dentistry in 2011 to study in depth Occitan, his mother tongue. In 2017 he earned his two-year master’s degree in Occitan at the Faculty of Letters of the Paul Valéry University in Montpellier, just a year after his first book Lo tust de la lenga [The clash of the tongue] (Edicions de la MARPòc, Nimes 2016) was released. He’s been since then devoted to the study and the passing on the Occitan culture. He joined the Multiple Versions Project in 2013.
Kristine Ong Muslim authored nine books of fiction and poetry, including The Drone Outside (Eibonvale Press, 2017), Black Arcadia (University of the Philippines Press, 2017), Meditations of a Beast (Cornerstone Press, 2016), Butterfly Dream (Snuggly Books, 2016), and Age of Blight (Unnamed Press, 2016); co-edited the British Fantasy Award-winning People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction! (2016) and Ulirát: Best Contemporary Stories in Translation from the Philippines (Gaudy Boy, 2021); and translated many bilingual editions, including Marlon Hacla’s Melismas (Oomph Press, 2020) and Mesándel Virtusio Arguelles’s Three Books (Broken Sleep Books, 2020). She guest-edited Philippine-language poets in LRR Vol. 17.
Lyubomir Nikolov is the author of Pagan and Unreal Estate (Carnegie Mellon University Press). His most recent book, Idle Lava, was published in Bulgarian by Fakel Press in 2016. He lives in Poolesville, Maryland. His latest translation of a poem into Bulgarian appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk (Komograf, Poland, 2017, 2019).
Philip A. Olsen is in his 30th year as Director of the Upper School choirs at McDonogh School. Prior to coming to McDonogh, he held positions as Assistant Professor of Music and Conductor at the University Chorus at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, and Director of the Choral Ensemble in New York City. He holds a Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting from Florida State University where he studied with Joseph R. Flummerfelt and Colleen J. Kirk. Music Director of the Second Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland since 2004. He composed music for Lidia Kosk’s “Obligations” and “The Clock’s Ticking.”
Sabine Pascarelli earned her degree in German language and literature at Dortmund University. A published poet, children’s literature author, translator of English, German and Italian, her work includes The Alchemy of Grief by Emily Ferrara, Bordighera Poetry Award 2007 winner; Repubblica by Dr. J.H. Beall, (Toad Hall Press); Cosa farei per amore by Grace Cavalieri (The Bunny & the Crocodile Press). Contributed to Lidia Kosk’s Szklana Góra/Glass Mountain. Her work appeared in Vol. 11, Vol. 15, and Vol. 16 of LRR Poetry Translations Sections.
Natalia Romanova, born in Moscow, Russia, has a BA, MA, and a PhD in second language acquisition and pedagogy, and an MA in translation. She has translated poetry and texts of various genres from English, Russian, French, and Polish. She also has extensive experience as a translation reviewer/editor and an instructor. Her translations of Lidia Kosk’s poems were published in the international journal of poetry “Interpoezia.” Her latest translation of a poem into Russian appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk (Komograf, Poland). Natalia currently teaches at The George Washington University.
Paul Sohar has been writing and publishing in every genre, including seventeen volumes of translations, the latest being The Conscience of Trees (Ragged Sky, 2018) and The Refugee (Syergebooks, 2019). His own poetry: Homing Poems (Iniquity Press, 2006), TheWayward Orchard (Wordrunner Press Prize winner, 2011), and In Sun’s Shadow (Ragged Sky Press, 2020). Prose works: True Tales of a Fictitious Spy (Synergebooks, 2006) and a collection of one-act plays from One Act Depot (Saskatoon, Canada, 2014). Magazines: Agni, Gargoyle, Rattle, etc. Published Transylvania’s Hungarian poets in LRR Vol. 14.
Vladan Stamenković, philologist, poet, publicist, translator, born in Belgrade. Author of books: Dziedzictwo/Nasleđe (Warsaw, 1998), Sumienie pewnej wiosny/Savest unity proleća (Ciechanów 2004), a selection from contemporary Polish poetry Шест пољских песника (Belgrade 2000). His previous translation of Lidia Kosk’s poem into Serbian appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk (Komograf, Poland, 2019). Member of the Polish Writers’ Union and the Association of Serbian Writers.
Faiza Sultan, born in Iraq, is the author of poetry books Let Us Give War a Chance and I Am a Visitor on this Earth (English translations by S. Kureemun and L. Khalaf Tufaha, respectively). Translated into English It Took Place in this House, by Egyptian poet A. Gamal, and TheCoffee of War by Sudanese poet O. Suliman. Her translation of Lidia Kosk’s poem appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain. Serves as the President and CEO of Translation4all, Inc, on the ATA Board of Directors, and as Publisher & Editor of DARSAFI, LLC.
Robin Thoms, born in Calcutta, India, in 1947 to Scottish parents, is Vice-President of the Clan MacThomas Society. A gatherer and gifted storyteller of clan legends, author of the Clan’s 2014 Diamond Jubilee Gathering in Glenisla and Glenshee. Educated in Edinburgh, he has worked as a research scientist in Scotland, and in international banking for American Express in the U.K. and overseas, where he dodged bullets from the U.S. Army’s invasion of Panama. Now retired, Robin sometimes tour-guides school trips, and tour-manages coach holidays.
Helena Van Brande is a Belgian-American poet and translator. She is a Princeton graduate with a degree in comparative literature and minors in creative writing and environmental studies. Her poetry has appeared in Tiny Seed Literary Journal, and her translations in journals such as Conjunctions: 73 and the Loch Raven Review Vol. 16. She loves to garden, hike, and surf, and is currently based out of Chamonix, France.
Elisabeth (Ielyzaveta) Walther was born in Artiomovsk, Ukraine. Her father, Jurij Stefanov, a miner, was also a multilingual writer and translator. She holds a BA in History, and in Law. Currently, she teaches sociolinguistics of minority languages (such as Sorbian, Welsh, Kashubian etc.) at the University of Leipzig, and is writing her PhD thesis on miners’ literature in a minority language context. Her translations appeared in Szklana góra/Glass Mountain by Lidia Kosk (Komograf, Poland). Member of Multiple Versions Project.
Victor Yaznevich (Вiктар Язневiч), PhD in Technical Sciences, specializing in computers and information technology. He has translated 4,000 pages of Lem’s short stories and non-fiction into Russian and Belarusian. Author of over fifty articles about Lem’s works, published in nine countries; books on biography; world bibliography and philosophical heritage of Lem. Recent volumes, commemorating Lem’s Centennial include Stanisław Lem Non Fiction. Bibliografia i Personalie, a full bibliography of Lem’s non-fiction published all over the world, and Stanislaw Lem in the World. He lives in Minsk, Republic of Belarus.
The Loch Raven Review 