{"id":5979,"date":"2020-08-04T09:27:13","date_gmt":"2020-08-04T09:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/?p=5979"},"modified":"2020-08-06T08:46:15","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T08:46:15","slug":"ian-brinton-and-michael-grant-translations-from-paul-valery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/5979\/ian-brinton-and-michael-grant-translations-from-paul-valery\/","title":{"rendered":"Ian Brinton and Michael Grant: Translations from Paul Val\u00e9ry"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Les Vaines Danseuses<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Celles qui sont des fleurs l\u00e9g\u00e8res sont venues,<\/p>\n

Figurines d\u2019or et beaut\u00e9s toutes menues<\/p>\n

O\u00f9 s\u2019irise une faible lune\u2026Les voici<\/p>\n

M\u00e9lodieuses fuir dans le bois \u00e9clairci.<\/p>\n

De mauves et d\u2019iris de nocturnes roses<\/p>\n

Sont les gr\u00e2ces de nuit sous leurs danses \u00e9closes.<\/p>\n

Que de parfums voil\u00e9s dispensent leurs doigts d\u2019or!<\/p>\n

Mais l\u2019azur doux s\u2019effeuille en ce bocage mort<\/p>\n

Et de l\u2019eau mince luit \u00e0 peine, repos\u00e9e<\/p>\n

Comme un p\u00e2le tr\u00e9sor d\u2019une antique ros\u00e9e<\/p>\n

D\u2019o\u00f9 le silence en fleur monte\u2026Encore les voici<\/p>\n

M\u00e9lodieuses fuir dans le bois \u00e9clairci.<\/p>\n

Aux calices aim\u00e9s leurs mains sont gracieuses;<\/p>\n

Un peu de lune dort sur leurs l\u00e8vres pieuses<\/p>\n

Et leurs bras merveilleux aux gestes endormis<\/p>\n

Aiment\u00a0\u00a0\u00e0 d\u00e9nouer sous les myrtes amis<\/p>\n

Leurs liens fauves et leurs caresses\u2026Mais certaines,<\/p>\n

Moins captives du rythme et des harpes lointaines,<\/p>\n

S\u2019en vont d\u2019un pas subtil au lac enseveli<\/p>\n

Boire des lys l\u2019eau fr\u00eale o\u00f9 dort le pur oubli.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(First appeared in\u00a0la Conque<\/em>, 1st<\/sup>\u00a0July 1891)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Imaginary Dancers<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Delicate as flowers they have come,<\/p>\n

Slim figures sculpted out of gold,<\/p>\n

Becoming iridescent in a feeble moon\u2026They are here<\/p>\n

In melodious flight through the shimmering wood.<\/p>\n

Mauves, blues and the nocturnal rose<\/p>\n

Weave a way below their surging dance.<\/p>\n

What veils of perfume drape their gilded fingertips!<\/p>\n

But the smooth blue sky is leafless in this barren grove<\/p>\n

While the shallow lake offers little light, laid out<\/p>\n

Like some deathly reservoir of age-old dew<\/p>\n

Where flowering silence reaches up\u2026They are here again<\/p>\n

In melodious flight through the shimmering wood.<\/p>\n

Their hands grace the adored chalice;<\/p>\n

A glint of moonlight rests on consecrated lips<\/p>\n

And under friendly myrtle the drowsy movement<\/p>\n

Of their wondrous arms lovingly undoes<\/p>\n

Their tawny and caressing hair\u2026But some of them,<\/p>\n

Less in thrall to rhythm and distant harps,<\/p>\n

Move with secret steps towards the shrouded lake<\/p>\n

To drink the lilies\u2019 dew immersed in pure forgetfulness.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

La Fausse Morte<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Humblement, tendrement, sur le tombeau charmant,<\/p>\n

Sur l\u2019insensible monument,<\/span><\/p>\n

Que d\u2019ombres, d\u2019abandons, et d\u2019amour prodigu\u00e9e,<\/p>\n

Forme ta gr\u00e2ce fatigu\u00e9e,<\/span><\/p>\n

Je meurs, je meurs sur toi, je tombe et je m\u2019abats,<\/p>\n

Mais \u00e0 peine abbatu sur le s\u00e9pulcre bas,<\/p>\n

Dont la close \u00e9tendue aux cendres me convie,<\/p>\n

Cette morte apparente, en qui revient la vie,<\/p>\n

Fr\u00e9mit, rouvre les yeux, m\u2019illumine et me mord,<\/p>\n

Et m\u2019arrache toujours une nouvelle mort<\/p>\n

Plus pr\u00e9cieuse que la vie.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(First appeared in issue No. 8 of\u00a0l\u2019Oeil de Boeuf<\/em>, April 1921)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The False Death<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With humility and tenderness, on the charming monument,<\/p>\n

On the unmoving tomb<\/span><\/p>\n

That out of long-abandoned shadows and lavish passions<\/p>\n

Forms your sated grace,<\/span><\/p>\n

I die, I die beside you, I fall and lie in stillness,<\/p>\n

But scarcely have I touched this long low monument<\/p>\n

Whose passive secrecy invites me to its ashes<\/p>\n

Than life awakens in what seemed dead,<\/p>\n

She shudders, shines reopened eyes on me and bites<\/p>\n

Ripping a new death from me<\/p>\n

Precious beyond life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  • Ian Brinton co-edits\u00a0Tears in the Fence<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0SNOW<\/em>\u00a0and is closely involved with the Modern Poetry Archive at the University of Cambridge Library. His recent publications include\u00a0Poems<\/em>by Mallarm\u00e9 jointly translated with Michael Grant and introduced by J.H. Prynne (Muscaliet Press);\u00a0Selected Poems & Prose of John Riley<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00a0For the Future<\/em>, a festschrift for J.H. Prynne (both from Shearsman Books); a translation of selected poems of Philippe Jaccottet (Oystercatcher Press); an\u00a0Andrew Crozier Reader<\/em>\u00a0(Carcanet) and\u00a0Poetry & Poets since 1990<\/em>(Cambridge University Press). His edition of a\u00a0Selected Poems of Douglas Oliver<\/em>\u00a0is due out from Shearsman Books in October and his translations of Baudelaire\u2019s\u00a0Tableaux Parisiens<\/em>\u00a0from Two Rivers Press in July 2021.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n
    • Michael Grant has edited a number of prose works including\u00a0T.S. Eliot: The Critical Heritage<\/em>,\u00a0The Modern Fantastic<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Raymond Tallis Reader<\/em>. His most recent works of poetry are\u00a0The First Dream<\/em>\u00a0(Perdika Press) and\u00a0The White Theatre<\/em>\u00a0(vErIsImIlItUdE). He and Ian Brinton have also published two volumes of translations of the poetry of Yves Bonnefoy (Oystercatcher Press).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Les Vaines Danseuses   Celles qui sont des fleurs l\u00e9g\u00e8res sont venues, Figurines d\u2019or et beaut\u00e9s toutes menues O\u00f9 s\u2019irise une faible lune\u2026Les voici M\u00e9lodieuses fuir dans le bois \u00e9clairci. De mauves et d\u2019iris de nocturnes roses Sont les gr\u00e2ces de nuit sous leurs danses \u00e9closes. Que de parfums voil\u00e9s dispensent leurs doigts d\u2019or! Mais […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[56,12],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Unknown.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42xiC-1yr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5979"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5979"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6069,"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5979\/revisions\/6069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glasfrynproject.org.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}