No talk of rhyme, alliteration, consonance, assonance, anastrophe today; I prefer to leave the poem as it is, without dissecting it (although I know I do it in my head as I translate).

I believe all the devices are here to create the music Ada Negri surely heard while she was writing the poem; and I’ve always worked to reproduce that music (I feel my only duty is to the poet)…but today I’m not so sure my way is the “right” (surely not “today’s”) way.

I attended an online discussion on poetry in translation, and the words are still whirling (like the snow in the poem?) in my head. I was amazed to learn that “the music” of the original can be considered dated by English readers, and even some translators, that creating a totally different sounding poem is not only OK but preferable, for it appeals to the modern reader. It’s not that I didn’t already suspect this: I read enough poetry in translation (especially Italian) to have learned this. It’s just something I’d never heard spoken out loud (I really should get out more) and with such conviction. Not everyone was of this opinion, of course, but it was, I believe, what the majority thought…

So here is Ada Negri’s poem, translated “my way”. I couldn’t force myself to be more “modern”, sorry. Enjoy. – Matì

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

photo: mine, on an icy day