Staugsmas – Ginsberg in translation 1

Staugsmas, Kadisas, Ir Kiti Eilerasciai (Howl, Kaddish, and Other Poems) translated by Kasparas Porcius and Marius Burokas for Kitos Knygos (Other Books), the first book-length Lithuanian translations of Allen’s poetry recently (belatedly) appeared (it was launched, just a couple of months back, at the Vilnius Book Fair). If you ever wondered how “America” sounded in Lithuanian (!) , check here

There is also footage of Marius Burokas reading his translation of “A Supermarket in California”, and Rolando Rastausko recalls the time, in 1984, when Allen, as part of a PEN group, visited Vilnius. Fulbright scholar and poet-in-residence at Vilnius University, Jake Levine, rounds out the program (in English) with his presentation, “How Ginsberg Revolutionized America Through Poetry”.

Speaking of Eastern European translations, hats off also to Vladimir Levchev. A long-time translator of Allen’s work (his Krila Nad Chernata Shakhta (Wings Lifted Over The Black Pit), a selection of Ginsberg translations (this time into Bulgarian), appeared in 1983; more recently (2009), Voi, his bilingual edition of Howl, came out from Sofia-based Colibri publishers).

We might also mention, since we’re on the subject, Romania. Domnica Drumea and Petru Illescu‘s edition of their Ginsberg translations, Howl si alte poeme (Howl and other poems) appeared last year from Polirom as a handsome paperback.

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