No home for my words

No Home for My Words Contemporary Afghan Poetry and the Challenges of Translation By Mir Hussain Mahdavi A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University © Copyright Mir Hussain Mahdavi, August 2013 2 McMaster University MASTER OF ARTS (2013) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: No Home for My Words: Contemporary Afghan Poetry and the Challenges of Translation. AUTHOR: Mir Hussain Mahdavi, Honours MA of Islamic studies ,University of Qom ( Iran), 2000; B.A. Physics (Qazwin University, Iran), 1997. 3 Introduction Afghanistan has become a very popular country in the past 30 to 40 years. There are news reports coming out of the country almost every day. In the West, the name Afghanistan has become almost synonymous with such politically and culturally loaded terms as war, terror, Al-Qaeda, bombing, killing, natural disaster, refugee and so on. As an Afghan native son, it is upsetting to see the name of my country associated with such unpleasant words. We are a nation, a nation rich in history, several thousand years old. We live a normal life, we live as othe atio s i the o ld. We p odu e a ts, lite atu e, poet fight, e do t e ist to kill o a d usi . We do t just li e to e killed. We lo e life, e lo e to see o e a othe happ a d lo e others to see us happy. Why has the identity of the whole nation become synonymous with an unfinished war against Al-Qaeda? I understand that not everybody thinks this way; people k o that e e a atio a d that a nation is not only a sum of its tragedies. But I also know that repetition makes reputation. The every day news of war in Afghanistan has made this country synonymous with those incidents in the eyes of other people. I decided to draw a different perspective of my mother land, and open a new window to see Afghanistan from a different angle. For my major research project (MRP) in master of Cultural Studies and Critical Theory, I chose to translate some Afghan poetry. I started to translate Farsi poems but very soon I found the barriers that I needed to deal with, the problems of translating Afghan poetry and the challenges I had to face. Poetry 4 t a slatio i ge e al o es ith p o le s a d I as fa ilia ith those, ut I did t thi k that cultural and geographical differences would make a huge difference in translating poetry. Every poem that I picked to translate somehow ended up getting nowhere. The poems that resulted , some of them had already lost their home, their original linguistic home, but the sad part is that I could not get them anywhere. I think the cultural barriers prevented me from delivering them successfully into their target language. In the end I have managed to break through the linguistic barriers of a few notable poems. In the end, have I managed to break through the linguistic barriers of these poems? Are they safe and sound in their new homes? I am ready to tell their story. In my MRP I tried to convert my individual research project to a workshop, keep the doors open to everyone and make every single move visible. My readers will find themselves on a journey, a journey of translation in every sense of poetry. My readers will walk through all the a eas he e I alk; the ill talk to Afgha poets; the ill sea h ith e as e t to la d these homeless poems, to settle them in a new linguistic home. Before I let you go into this workshop, I need to express my special thanks and gratitude to D . Jeffe kindness. Do aldso , M‘P s supe iso fo all his help, fo his ge e osities a d fo his 5 Translation, general definition and its obligations Translating poetry is a complex matter, a combination of two separate elements, the poetry itself and the art of translation. To provide a better understating of the whole issue, we need to focus and scrutinize these two elements individually. Translation of nonfiction prose, according to the Oxford online dictionary is the p o ess of translating words or text f o o e la guage i to a othe t a slatio , . ). It means to change the form and the body of a meaningful statement or to migrate a set of meanings from one language to another. In a general approach, meaning and its transformation is the aim and focus of the act of translation. In other words, the primary concern of the act of prose t a slatio is pa aph asa le ea i g. What someone has said is the critical point for a translator, not necessarily how he said is or how he formed his sentences. Generally the meaning itself is sometimes considered the only important matter, and therefore, the form of the expression would normally play less of a role in the act of translation. Therefore accuracy and fidelity to the original argument would be the prime responsibly for the translator. In this view, how a thing is said becomes a mere aesthetic issue and has less to do with transference of meanings because it seems that it does not add anything to the meaning of the sentence. If we agree that the prime goal of nonfiction prose translation, in general, is transformation of meanings, then we all would agree that translation does not deal there with the unique art of words, the poetic form of sentences. 6 An important question arises. Can beauty, or more specifically the art of the literary cannot be rendered from one language to another? Can beauty be transferred to a different language without losing its original form? Reading, translation and their similarities Reading, in some ways is very similar to translation, and both actions can be categorized as attempts to seek meaning. When we read a text, any text, we actually try to transfer or translate a pre-written, pre-formed message to a message that is essentially free of form. In this process a message is minimized to its contents. The message in the source language and message in the target language share the same content but they are formed differently. The goal in translation and reading is to share the same content in two different forms. Peter Robinson describes the similarity between reading and translation as one equal to a othe . He sa s: eadi g is al ead t a slatio , a d t a slatio is translation for the second ti e . As he describes, reading is translation, because the main concern for either reading nonfiction prose or translating it is meaning. Meaning is what makes the act of reading, and therefore translation, possible. Of course someone may argue that the act of reading is not just a matter of meaning, instead it can be an attempt to re-experience the narrative. But re-experiencing of an incident 7 competently depends on how we understand the narrative of that incident. In other words, we need to understand a text first to make the situation available for further development. Reading, meaning and language When we read a text, our eyes follow words along a linear path. We see a chain of words, but they come to our attention (to our eyes) one by one. It seems that our eyes stop at each word and we read each of them separately. We cannot read the text as a whole, as we read a photo as a whole. We can only see the text as words and each word can only mean to us a little piece of the whole text. We connect these individual words to each other to understand them. A whole page only makes sense when we have finished reading it. We can only communicate with individual words and the chain of these individual words can create meaning for us. After we read a word, the word ends and in a sense disappears from the chain of o ds. We a a gue that the ea i g is the life a d ei g of a o d. A o d, passi g in sequence, appears to our attention, and signifies something for us. At a glimpse, a word in a hai of othe o ds takes ou atte tio outside of the te t to sho so ethi g , to some object to our atte tio . Take, fo i sta e the se te e I a t to go . Whe o d I , ou atte tio goes to a pe so , a pe so alit . The o d a i g e ead the a t does ot take us to pe so , i stead it sho s us a de isio , illi g ess, o a ish. To does ot se e us at all; it is the auxiliary for the infinitive and functions as such only inside the world of words, to o e t the o ds a t a d go . To i gs a ish i to a tio a d he keeps our attention, focusing on the words before and after of it. e ead it, it 8 I this e a ple, the o d I is used up i its de otati e outside of its te ito to sho us so ethi g, a jou e f o ea i g. The o d I takes us I to a pe so o a pe so alit . I this jou e , e gai a pe so a d lose the o d I . I this p o ess I gi es up its being, its whole existence and its life to show us something. The process of finding meaning can be seen as a process of life and death, meanings come to our attention, and as they do, the words die or pass away. Whenever we want to read a text, we never intend to harm the structure and existence of that text, we just want to use it as a device to search for meanings; but the reality is we kill the text and take its life away. Reading violates the integrity of a text, by disturbing its normal life o death o ditio . It see s i a te t, life a d death a e so eho i te t i ed; the e pa t of a process and one assist and represent the other. Meaning and the existence of a textual message appear to contradict each other. The content is pa t of the te t s e iste e ut it s hidde . ‘eadi g is a atte pt to fi d this hidde pa t of a text. Meaning cannot exist prior to its embodiment in a text. Does this mean texts are made to provide meaning for us? Do texts contain only a medium- format of lives? The answer to these uestio s ill dete i e hat ki ds of app oa h e ill take to te ts. If e e sea hi g fo ea i gs, the the a s e to those uestio s is es. We do t eed te t e ause the e te ts; instead we need them because they help us to specify the meanings of statements made by other people. Texts as textual devices help us to go beyond words and find something more than words, stronger than words and deeper than words. 9 If we accept that language acts as a device to provide meaning for us, then we accept that language appears as a device. We should also admit that when we reach our goal and find the ea i g that e e looki g fo , the e do ot eed the de i e a o e. We e tio ed that the text exists to provide meanings. Thus, after we catch our fish and find the meanings, the e s o easo fo the te t to e p ese ed. I have argued that language dies after we use it, but this happens momentarily and only partially. The part of a text which has been read by us dies, not the whole text. The dead part of a text is not completely dead, and can be revived whenever we revisit and read it. A dead part of a text returns to life with our reading. We need to remember that a text is actually a dead object before we approach it. A text is dead and makes no noise and means nothing without our involvement. Dead texts are revived when we read them. As a part of the text is reviewed by us, it goes back to sleep. With this description we can say that death or dormancy is the permanent state for texts. We make textual messages come alive when we talk to them by reading them; their lives are temporal. David Kirby describes this as a coexistence of words and thei a se e . He sa s: Wo ds ill oe ist ith a se e of o ds I ou p e ious e a ple, the o d I . elo gs to la guage ut its e ui ale t, the pe so or the personality, does not. In this journey, language dies piece by piece, without receiving anything back, and therefore it situates itself in a new condition of loss. When we are reading a text, we are basically acknowledging the temporality of the language at that moment, the momentary death of language and the momentary life of language. 10 Peter Robinson, for example as we mentioned believes that reading is an act of t a slatio ; he e ead a te t to fi d its ea i g, e t a slate that te t. That ea s that s no meaning exists prior to our reading, we read a text and we create meaning for it. Reading can also be seen as a kind of communication; we communicate with a text when we read it. ‘o i so uotes Geo ge Gada e , sa i g that All a ts of o t a slatio o u i atio . The ‘o i so e e happe s o ti ues to ake his o lai u i atio a e a ts of a d sa s: A o plete . If a complete communication is impossible, that means reading for the sake of finding certain meanings is partially doomed. There is no complete meaning anywhere and so it makes no sense to look for it. Robinson emphasizes the cultural and human barriers for translation and o ludes that t a slatio is app o i atio a d the e olutio of hu a so ieties e a s of app oa h a oss ast dista es ithi i ute deg ees of p o i it odies . Reading a text is either communication or translation and according to many scholars, including Peter Robinson these two tools cannot produce unique meanings for any text. But we should remember that there is always a degree of possibility in the translation of meaning from o e la guage i to a othe o e. The state e t I a t to go ho e , a e t a slated i to a language. The issue of approximation of meaning cannot be seen as a threat here, because the meaning is so simple and not subject to any ambiguities in either of the two languages. Another issue that we can discuss is interpretation, espe iall ou t i te p etatio . A judge asks someone to translate a question, a notice or a verdict to a victim or a defendant. If meaning were t transferable, then the process would fail. But court translation is an everyday 11 necessity for a diverse community like Canada and without relying and trusting on translation, not only would the justice system not be served but also life would be impossible for cultural minorities. Our daily lives show that communication at certain levels is possible. All theories dealing with reading and translation emphasize the impossibility of translating products of one language into another language, or the impossibilities of Fo eig izi g la guage p odu ts (Folkart, 158). But this impossibilit is ot total. What s eall in fact impossible is to expect a unique translation for any text or expect that the result of all translations of a specific text will be equal. Different translators make different translations from the same text. What I am trying to emphasize is that translation is only impossible if we define a translation as the exact equal to its original. Poetry and Poetic Language “I often feel that words get in the way but then I have nothing but words.” Mark Strand (9) Poetry has been defined in many different ways but all these different definitions have a o o g ou d. Poet is hat e og izes a d e te ds la guage. It s he e la guage egi s. In a poem, words appear very different than they appear in non-poetic or literal texts. When we read a word of a poem, we cannot finish reading that word. Words in poetry do not end after being read. A word in a poem, in general, has more than one meaning to share with us. We can 12 meet with each word separately and they have enough valancy with different layers to avoid being emptied. It would be very useful to show what poetry is, instead of just talking about poet . Let s ha e a look at a e sho t poe , alled Keepi g Thi gs Whole by Mark Strand: In a field I am the absence of field. This is always the case. Wherever I am I am what is missing. When I walk I part the air and always the air moves in to fill the spaces he e od s ee . We all have reasons for moving. I move to keep things whole. (Reasons 40) In this example, the words are bold, deep; that is to say that they rise above their conventional uses. They all appear to be very special and treat each other differently. When we read Wherever I am/ I am what is missing , e a ot o l look fo ea i g, a e y specific meaning, because the meaning is elusive. In this example, each word exists and enjoys as independence. None of these words takes us outside of its territorial state to show us something. It can be something at the same time it appears as a word. We mostly search for our own meaning whenever we read a poem. Meaning is not so ethi g that e e pe t f o a poe ; e ause Poetry is a non-instrumental use of 13 la guage . As a non-instrumental use of language, poetry more typically emphasizes a la guage s estheti fu tio s. In poetry, words are not connected to each other in a linear path; instead each word seems to create a space. Words have not only a surface but a depth, not just linear space but volume. “id e s defi itio of poet , as a speaki g pi tu e sho s that i poet o ds a e not equal to what they are supposed to mean, but to what they show. If poetry is a speaking pi tu e, the i eadi g poet , e a o l sea h fo speaki g pi tu es . Mea i g, the , ill be itself a functio of that speaki g pi tu e . A speaki g pi tu e e tai l a ha e o e tha one thought to share or more than one meaning to say. We can certainly look for our own ea i g of those speaki g pi tu es ut ou ea i gs a e e tai l ot the o l ea i gs in those speaki g pi tu es . The Relationship Between Poetry and Translation In reading poetry, meaning is not our only, not perhaps even primary concern. There is no unique and certain meaning for a poem at all. In this condition, what exactly does t a slatio of poet is o ea ? There is no unique meaning available to be transferred. If there ea i g a aila le, the hat else a e t a slate? Ca e t a slate lite al eaut from one form of language into another? If we are going to transfer the linguistic beauty of the text, then what can we call the process of beauty transformation? One of the reasons for 14 having so much confusion in dealing with poetry translation, indeed, comes from the word t a slatio itself. I the o pou d of poet t a slatio , poet de ies t a slatio a d the act of translation tends to compromise the essence of poetry. Form and Meaning in Poetry The relationship between meaning and form is another important issue in comparing non- poetic texts and poetry. By the term form, I mean the very unique structure of sentences, and the way words appea i those se te es i poet . I Afgha ista s lite atu e, the e is a consensus that only poetry and other texts related to poetry carries form, and literal texts are meant to only carry meaning. The reason for this judgment is to see literal or non-poetic texts as vehicles carrying meaning. Meaning is their immediate response to any appeal of o u i atio ; ea i g is aked a d ead to e t a sfe ed i a h i ge e al, lite al te ts do t ha e fo o u i atio . That s . With the a se e of artistic form, we can easily deal with the nude meanings, ready to be transferred. In poetry, forms are one of the essential parts of its existence; a poem cannot be defined without form. Let s etu sa i g poet fo to Ma k “t a d s poe dis ussed ea lie , to sho . He e is the fi st pa t agai : In a field I am the absence of field. This is hat exactly I mean by 15 always the case. Wherever I am I am what is missing. If we re-write this poem and say: I am the absence of field in a field. This is always the case, I am what is missing, wherever I am. This version is not only not a poem but also very complicated, very difficult to understand. And yet we used exactly the same words as Mark Strand used in his poem. Why is this poem in the original version and yet a poem in the second e sio ? Be ause it s e i po ta t i fo i g poeti se te es to st u tu e o to uild a poetic structure. In writing non-poeti se te es e do t ha e the p o ess of uilding a poetic structure. The existence of form in poetry is not the main problem in translating poems; the main problem is the combination of form, structural techniques, and meanings. Meanings and forms do not appear separately; they get involved in a process of mutual exchange. Meaning becomes pa t of poet s fo a d fo sits i the positio of ea i g. Fo s ot o l fo the poe but also form the meanings as well. The issue of the inseparability of these two elements causes an unsolvable problem for poetry translation. Poetry Translation Theories Attitudes towards the translatability of poetry can be broken down into three distinct groups: 1) Word-by-word translation of poetry is possible; the translator must focus on accuracy and fidelity to the original poem. 16 2) Translation of poetry is impossible. Believers of this theory, as Peter Robinson, argue that Poet is hat gets lost i t a slation . 3) Translation of poetry can only be possible and meaningful if we can re-create the sourcepoem in the target language. The emphasis here falls not on accurate translation but on finding equivalent effects for the experience of the poem in the original. Translation: Fidelity to the Original Source When we speak of poetry translation, we basically talk about exporting poetry into another language. How that can be possible? Or I should ask, what exactly does that mean? What do we do when we translate poetry? We know, for instance, what a writer does when he ites a out his last t ip to Va ou e . We a sa that he is e a tl k o Ca hat a poet does he he s e sa that he s iti g his aki g his e poe . Is he poet i g his e poe ? iti g his e poe ? As e dis ussed, poet lite al te t. I a ou t house, he a judge sta ds fa f o ites his e di t, e a sa that he s statement; we can transfer that verdict into another language and sa , e di t i to Fa si . We a e all fa ilia e oi s. But e do t ith this ki d of te i olog , a iti g a iti g his e e t a slati g the ite ites a d a translator translates. But what does a poet do? Can we define the process of making-creating poetry? 17 I thi k the e s a la k of te minology in describing the action of making poetry. A poet ites his poe he he s do e ith poet , o at least ith his fi st d aft of his poe . He does not create the poem when he is writing it. Poetry- making is a difficult process; it has some activities ehi d the s e e that e a t see p ope l . He s hole p o ess of eati g o iti g his aki g a lite al te t a out so e od s so ethi g i the past. But he s iti g his e poe e o of doi g does ot ha e the sa e deg ee of la ifi atio a out hat e a tl the poet does. That s the fi st p o le ith lite al te ts. The se o d p o le e oi s sho s the is that e do t e a tl k o of poet hat poet i o pa iso is. We k o what literal texts are, we can define them, and we can show them to each other; we enjoy eadi g the . But e eed to e e la guage, i a e that the e s o fi ed defi itio fo poet he e. We a feel poet ut e a i a ot usuall sho poet . Let s ead o e of Ma k “t a d s sho t poe s, Eati g Poet , and see why this is a poem and not a literal text: Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry. The librarian does not believe what she sees. Her eyes are sad and she walks with her hands in her dress. The poems are gone. The light is dim. The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up. Their eyeballs roll, their blond legs burn like brush. The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep. She does not understand. When I get on my knees and lick her hand, she screams. 18 I am a new man. I snarl at her and bark. I romp with joy in the bookish dark. (Reasons 3) What ould the effe t e if e did a a ith the li e eaks? Let s t it ith the first line: Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry. If we read these lines as we read a literal text, we may assume that the writer is either a hild o a ad a . It s lea that these th ee li es make no sense at all. If we go back to our last uestio , e a t eall sa is. Let s hat these th ee li es a e, o ake a si ila te t ith th ee li es: I k u s f o know what to sa ut I hat the hole u ite of the o e s of so sad. I ha e ee eati g pape fo the past te eadi g these li es, e k o e a tl li es outh. I do t i utes. By hat has happe ed, hat e e eadi g a d hat does this means to us. No , if e e talki g a out t a slati g these t o te ts i to a othe la guage, perhaps the second would seem more manageable. We can translate the second text because we know what it means and what it says to us. We know its meaning and we can translate it easily. In translating the second sentence, it is also important to make sure that we translate what exactly these sentences are saying. We need to remain faithful to the original text. Fidelity to the source text is easily possible and we have to follow it. But the situation in our first example is somewhat different. In the fi st e a ple, e do t e a tl k o do t k o hat a se te e o a te t ea s, the hat it ea s o sa s. If e hat a e e t a sfe i g f o the sou e language to the target language? And more importantly, if we do not know exactly what a text means, then how can we preserve fidelity of translation? 19 If we try to translate poetry word by word and focus on accuracy and fidelity in the language, we are attempting an impossible mission. Translating poetry based on accuracy would be a process of dismissing the whole identity of poetry. Accuracy has a close relationship ith ea i g, e ause a u a i t a slatio it o l possi le i sou e te t . We a sa that the su je t of a u a possi le su je t fo t a slatio , the e a is just fidelit to the ea i g. If o lude that the theo ea i g of the ea i g is the only of t a slatio of poet based on accuracy, reduces poetry to mere paraphrase. But we need to consider that reducing poetry to a paraphrase means taking poetry out of the poem or leaving no poetry in the poem. If we can reduce poetry to a literal text, then accuracy in translation would be possible, but not in a complete poetry translation. If a poem is going to be translated into another language as a poem, then accuracy would make no sense. In a source poem, there is no way to measure accuracy or accurate meaning or form. The Impossibility of Poetry Translation If a o plete o u i atio e e happe s a d t a slatio i ge e al does ot mean more than approximating meaning in a language and transporting it into another language, then how can we talk about translating poetry? The ability of language to make communication possible, as Peter Robinson describes, depends on the ability of users. He says The life of la guage i use is de o st ated ou a ilit to u de sta d . That means 20 he e use la guage i a e si ple a to o u i ate, e e gi i g birth to language at that historical moments. Language does not exist prior to our use of it. If language does not exist prior to our use of it, then communication creates language while at the same time language creates the possibility of communications. In other words, language is not a pre-made set of symbols and signs to provide communication; language is empty of life, empty of meaning; we use it and give meaning to it. The moment we use a language, the language is given birth. Robinson explains this historical moment to show the complications of using la guage itself. He sa s: We use the la guage at a spe ifi o e t i the histo of its usage, we are each unique persons with individual versions of that language at that historical o e t . When we use a language in our attempt to communicate, we use the language of the pu li . We do t ha e ou o pe so al la guage, ut e use this pu li la guage i a e personal way. Our personal approach to language makes the language become partially personal. We use a language and at the same time we personalize it. We create and personalize a la guage a d that s e si ila to iti g poet . W iti g poet , i a se se, is eati g a d personalizing the world. Robinson focuses on this issue and says Whe it o es to la guage use, e a e all, i ou diffe e t a s a d to diffe e t deg ees, poets . As we mentioned earlier Robinson also believes that understanding is translating, in such a way then that translation becomes a second translation. Keeping this in mind, if a language is somehow already poetic, writing poetry is making language in a sense loudly poetic for the second time. If translating prose is translating it for the second time, translating a poem 21 is translating it into a language that then needs to be re-translated. Obviously this is a very complicated situation, because the process of re-translation would induce the same problematic process. Pete ‘o i so d a s this o lusio , iti g Poet is hat gets lost i t a slatio (15). If poetry is what gets lost in translation, then it means translation acts as a system; or a machine, reducing the amount of poetry in a poem. Translation is responsible for poems lost in the process of getting transported to another language. Beauty in poetry can be defined in three different ways: beauty in sense, in sound, and in form. Aesthetic values in a poem lean on word order, sound, and cognitive sense. As Elaheh Fadaee des i es i he essa o Poetry in translation: A comparative study of Silverstein's o oli gual a d ili gual E glish to Pe sia poe s , t a slatio is ep ese ts the o igi al st u tu e of poe s, ha ges e al st u tu es, the sou d a d se se of the poe s. He e, she writes, if the t a slato dest o s the o d choice, word order, and the sounds, he impairs a d disto ts the eaut of the o igi al poe Poetry translation is the process of re-fo . i g the o igi al st u tu e of poet s od order, re-establishing the original sounds and re-building the original sense. But some of these obligations are impossible to fulfill. The word- order structure of the poem cannot be reestablished, because translation ultimately means changing the physical appearance of a poem. We cannot re-establish the exact sound and sense. The only thing a poetry translator can do is to try to make an equivalent version of the poem. We can expect that the equivalent version of a poe ust ha e a e ui ale t effe t, as Pete Ne a k otes: to p odu e the sa e effe t 22 or one as close as possi le to its o igi al e sio . But he ot so ethi g that t a slatio e tio s that e ui ale t effe t is a easil p odu e. He sa s As I see it, 'e ui ale t effe t is the desi a le esult, athe tha the ai of a t a slatio . He o ti ues The o e spe ifi a language becomes for natural phenomena (e.g., flora and fauna) the more it becomes e edded i ultu al featu es, a d the efo e eates t a slatio p o le s . It ould e very difficult to separate poetic from its cultural roots. The more poetry goes to in details, cultural points and values, the more poetry becomes domestic. But translation is an act of foreignizing linguistic products. If historical, cultural and geographical elements systematically act to localize poetry products, then there is not enough possibility to hope for translating poetry at all. Because there is always some degree of cultural-historical elements in any poem, they act as boundaries and attempt to keep poetry local. There is no doubt that the aim of translating poetry from a source language is to result in poem in the target language. The poem in the target language is a new poem with e ui ale t effe t i elatio to the o igi al poe . But Pete ‘o i so something that we can always e pe t. He sa s Poet a elie es that s ot ot e ep odu ed hole i a othe language 19). If reproducing poetry as a whole is impossible, then the whole process of poetry translation seems impossible. But in reality we know that there are many poems translated from one language to another. How this theatrically impossible issue practically became possible? I thi k the ke poi t i ‘o i so s state e t is his e phasis o the totalit o the hole ess of a poe . What does he e a tl ea It ould e fai to sa that he s talki g a out t a sfo sa i g ep odu i g poet as hole ? atio , athe tha t a slatio . He sa s 23 that we cannot transfer a poem as is and with all its factors, without the totality of the poem getting changed in the process of migrating to another language. O e all, I assu e that t a sfo atio ould e a o e a u ate a d o e effe ti e term than translation. In transformation we suppose that a poem exists in the language as an independent object or thing and can be transferred to another language with some of its ele e ts kept u ha ged. This u ha ged ele e t of a poe spi it of a poe a d that keeps a poe is hat e a all the poeti to e al a s a poe . But t a slatio does sa a thi g about the unchanged elements of a poem in the process of its migration, instead it emphasizes on the issue of migration itself. Translation as Recreation Some scholars believe that translation of poetry is possible only if the translator can recreate the source poem with equal effect, or the closest possible effect, into another language. In this sense as Jonas Zdanys writes, the process of poetry translation would be something o e tha just a t a slatio : The t a slatio p o ess, i this ie , e o es little else tha t a slite atio 20). It s i po ta t to ote that t a slati g poet ust e d ith o less tha a ia le poe in the target language. In an ideal translation, a poem in its source language will be transported to a target language as a poem, in its own right preferably with the same effects in the target 24 language. Poetry must be poetry in both languages. I need to mention here that translating a poem into prose is a very popular tradition of poetry translation, where poetry is not what we see o o e side. But I also do t thi k that e a all this popula t aditio t a slatio . Ba a a Folka t dis usses the possi ilit of t a slati g poet Fi di g, A poeti s of T a slatio : A thi g less tha a poe poet i he ook “e o d i the ta get la guage is g ossl un-representative of the source poem" (21). The target poem must be a poem which can represent the source poem, a new version of the source poem. As we know, poet and translator are usually two different people, with two different perspectives. How can we expect, through, two different writers from two different cultures to create the same version of one poem? Translation in one sense is an attempt to speak on behalf of someone else. The translator tries to say what the author has said in his original language. Peter Newman sees this as an act of epla e e t . He sa s … usi g a othe la guage ou a e p ete di g to e so eo e ou a e ot (22). One of the practical ways for the translator to be someone else is to re-live the life of this someone else - the poem s autho s life. The t a slato has to e te into the mind and heart of his author, relive his circumstances, re-feel what he felt, re-perceive hat he pe ei ed (23). This advice suggests that the translator must try to act as the author, or even prete d to e the autho . I this app oa h, the ai poe s i is to e ualize the eato s of the oth its e sio s to i su e the e ualit of the e sio s the sel es. I Ne a k s ie if a translator can empathize with the way the poet felt, then there is a better chance that his translation will stand close to the original. Re-experiencing the life of a poet may help to t a slate the poe s i a a that Pete Ne a k des i es: atu all , a u atel a d ith 25 a i u effe ti e ess . But of ou se the e is o gua a tee that eli i g so eo e s life and re-feeling his emotions will produce the same poetic product. It may also be that re-establishing the life of the poet by the translator is not necessary for translation. We need to focus on the poem itself and try to re-feel the emotions of the poe a d e-li e the life of that poe i to a othe la guage. If e a see the poe s life independent from the life of its author, we can focus on the identity and reality of the poem. As we always consider the poet s ultu al pe spe ti e, the pe so alit of the poet a d his o he perspective of life, we can assume that a poem must carry all these characteristic identities. Quite independent from its creator, a poem will have its own cultural roots, a personality, a language of its own as it were. The poe goi g to e o pleted s pe so alit is pa tiall ade the poet, ut it s the i te a tio al e gage e ts of its eade s. The poe s pe so alit is always in progress and each reader can complete it in the way they want. And therefore that s ho the poe s pe so alit diffe s f o the poet s. Let s ha e a look at o e of “usa Ho e s sho t poe s: we that were wood when that a wide wood was In a physical Universe playing with words Bark be my limbs my hair be leaf Bride be my bow my lyre my quiver (25) Al e t Gelpi i his a ti le, "The Ge ealog of Post ode is : Co te po a fo uses o this poe A e i a Poet a d sa s the poem makes a telling contrast with Pound's "a tree". , 26 Whereas his metamorphosis into a tree comes through identification with H.D. as his Daphne, Howe's isolation of "words" at the center of the page-space bases her Daphne-absorption in the "physical Universe" more explicitly than for Pound in the language-act itself ("playing with // o ds" (26). As we can see, this poem is strongly characterized by its structure and lineation, formally and culturally bound to its English literal environment, terms and conditions that would be quite difficult to re-create in a second language. How then would one go about rewriting or re- eati g this o d sho i a othe la guage, usi g o pletel diffe e t words, in a completely different culture? Can we somehow re-establish the sound effect of the se te es like e that e e ood , ithout usi g W s? As e lea Appli atio s a d ‘esea h Magazi e , edited i the T a slatio : ‘i ha d W. B isli : Vowels are the t a s itte s of feeli g a d e otio i all la guages . But diffe e t o els sou d diffe e t. Sound, rhyme, rhythm and other formal elements are also susceptible to cultural and linguistic differences. The sounds which are made by the wo d i “usa Ho s poe a ot e transferred to another language; it can only be reproduced in the target language by inventing a new structure for it. Newmark believes the only way that we can transfer sound products is to transfer the whole language unit. He sa s: I a ases it is ot possi le to 't a slate sou d- effe ts u less o e t a sfe s the ele a t la guage u its . If poetry is a selective use of language to produce verbal and visual imaginings, translation is a selective use of imagination to re-produce poetry. As Jonas Zdanys describes, a t i ge e al a d poet a d o og iti e i spe ifi , defi itio , is subjective, relative, personal, nonrational . “u je ti it , elati it a d pe so alit a e histo i al fa to s ith 27 independent cultural values. The more su je ti e, elati e, a d pe so al a poe e o es the more it becomes embedded in cultural features, and as Newmark describes, creates more translation problems. Translation of poetry means helping the target language audience to break through the sou e la guage s ultu al a d histo i al a ie s to get a ess to the poe . The t a slatio is only possible if the translator attempts to re-invent the culture, re-create the historical mood and re-establish the social and linguistic factors of the source language poem. Translating a poem, in this regard means creating a free-standing poem which is an independent poem in the target language, one that serves to represent both the paraphrasable content and the nuanced effects (both emotional and ideational) of the source poem. I atte pt to i t odu e Afgha ista s poet i this pape , I t ied to e ai lo al to this theory and create free-standing versions of Afghan poems. Afghanistan, poet and the culture of loving poetry Two major languages are spoken in Afghanistan, Persian (Farsi) and Pashto, but Persian is the leading language in education, cultural productivities and literature. Persian poetry, one of the world oldest poetry has lived as long as the history of Afghanistan. The traditional Persian poetry is strictly defined in the form of rhyme and rhythm. All poetic faculties must be 28 expressed in accordance to the rule of rhyme, rhyme and in metered verses. Ghazal, Qasida, Mathnawi and Quarain are the popular Persian classical styles of poetry. There are some arguments that the movements of modernizing Afghan poetry and literature has started with political reformation of King Amanullah Khan (1919-1925), but a stronger argument opposing this idea, claiming that poetry has been loyal to its traditional roots and rules until the revolution of April 1978, just before the invasion of the Soviet Union. D . Wali Ah adi i his ook, Mode Pe sia lite atu e i Afgha ista sa s that Mahmoud Tarzai (1866-1935), a prominent journalist and publisher of a bi-weekly journal Siraj Al Akhbar dedicated all his works to modernize Afghan poetry and literature. Tarzi focused on poet ; spe ifi all o so ethi g he alls a atu al a d lo al ode it . Ma o e e t ould ot ea h atio al poet , as a ultu al elie e Ki g A a ullah Kha s ost of its goals a d ediu to eate ode izatio ost of Afgha ista s ultu al p odu ts, especially poetry continued its traditional lives. The Glo ious P oleta ia ‘e olutio of Ap il half dead od of Afgha ista s ultu e. The ki gdo i so e a ou ts ould shake up the politi al s ste as go e a d the traditional rule of king and his family discontinued. The revolutionary social-communist governing party in a sudden action forced the traditional and Islamic society of Afghanistan to leave their traditional way of life and become proletarian devotee. The extreme troll against so iet s ha ited way of life by the ruling communist regime caused a country wide up rising and finally led to a long term civil wars. The Soviet Union invasion, not only expanded the political crises, but also deepened the war between traditional cultural values and the imported, sudden modernist movement. Many Afghans tried to flee the war and take refuge 29 in the neighboring countries, hoping to return soon. Several years after the occupation, a cultural movement, especially in literature and poetry started to oppose the occupation. Afghan resistance poetry movement in Afghanistan and among Afghan refugees in the neighboring countries aroused as a new way of fighting the foreigners and their occupation. Afgha poets i I a a d Pakista joi ed i to a ultu al a agai st Afgha ista s o upatio . Afghan traditional poetry which was already shaken by the socialistic revolution, the war and immigrating to other countries pressed it so hard. Afghan poets after being immigrated to neighboring countries, especially Iran because of communality of language, were introduced to a totally different poetic world and different way of practicing poetry. A group of young Afghan poets in Iran established their poetry gathering and poetry nights in 1983. This group played a very significant role in modernizing Afghan poetry by publishing books, magazines and running poetry nights, introducing new ways of writing poems, using new techniques, bringing new style of poetry. They tried to keep the form of the traditional Afghan poetry (Ghazal, Qasida, Math a i a d … ut e e i g its contained. The Iranian model of modern poetry had great influences on this group but they tried to create their own way of artistic approach to modern poet . It s o th to e tio t o of thei poeti a o plish e ts. The o i ed Ghazal ith Mathnawi and created a new style called Ghazal-Mathnawi. This new style was basically a ghazal mixed with mathnawi and poet had the ability to switch from one to another style in one poem. This new style was very helpful to cover political titles, because it would give more freedom to poets to express their political feeling and emotions. The second effort made by this group was the attempt to renew Ghazal. Ghazal historically was a style for love poems, strictly starting with certain way and ending in a specific way. Dealing with all premade rules would 30 leave no capacity for the modern age poet to use this artistic style of poetry for political and social purposes. This group had worked on this issue for several years and finally the made some exiting suggestions, alli g thei e ade st le Ne Ghazal . New Ghazal and Ghazal-Mathnawi soon became very popular among Afghan young poets, taki g the sta d of esista e st le of poet i Afgha ista . F ee e se poet ould t find its way into the society fast enough. There was a sort of self- resistance against practicing this style in the beginning of resistance movement in Afghanistan and aboard but later on it became one of the practical poetic ways of expressing political and social expressions. After more tha de ades of esista e poet o e e t, f ee e se still does t ha e the popularity of classical New Ghazal or Ghazal-Math a i a o g Afgha poets. It s e ause ordinary Afghans are bound with traditional method of judging arts and poetry. They can com u i ate a d u de sta d f ee e se poet a d pe haps do t e jo it. Afghanistan is a country of poetry, people mostly start their day with reciting poems and end their nights with crooning poems. From the childhood, in school and educational system, in work places, in celebration ceremonies and in different verity of evens, poetry is the only undoubted taste, the most accepted artistic gift and the best way of proofing yourself. The love of poetry in Afghan society helped the resistance poetry movement to go beyond the social and political boundaries and reform and re-establish the life of poetry in Afghanistan. In this research, I have several examples of resistance movement to show their poetic values and also to show the difficulties of translating Afghan poetry into English. 31 Afghan Poetry Translations in this Research To sho a ette pi tu e of Afgha ista s poet , I hose o e lassi al figu e a d se e al ode e a ples fo classi al poet t a slatio . ‘u i a a d also he s e ell k o ea e good e a ple of Afgha ista s i the E glish o ld. Let s ha e a dis ussio about the translations made of his works. The problem of translating Rumi Before I could speak English, I could not imagine someone translating Rumi from Farsi into any other language. It was not just because of the problems of poetry translation, but also because of Rumi himself. We know that poetry is not a description of an incident which happened in the world outside of the language, instead poetry itself is an incident that occurs in the la guage. I diffe e t o ds, poet a e defi ed as a li guisti i ide t a d that s o e of the easo s that it s so diffi ult to t a slate a poe . To t a slate poet , e eed to i ga linguistic incident out of its original language. In different words, to translate a poem, we need 32 to remove it from its origin, from its existence. But we already know if we remove a poem from its original language, it ceases a linguistic incident. In the Persian tradition, Jalaluddin Mohammad Rumi is not just a poet of thirteenth century o Isla i se e th e tu ; ut he s a i ide t. He is a i ide t i the o u it of humanity, as a super human. And also his poetry is known as a literary incident in the world of words. He started writing poetry when he was more than 40 years of age. He wrote in total over 75000 verses in Farsi and 1000 verses in Arabic language; and we know that he died when he was 68. In fewer than 28 years, he wrote more than any other Farsi popular poets of his time. More important than those numbers, he is the only poet in the history of Persia who could make peace between poetry and thought. Someone may argue that Rumi some of his poetry books, uses poetry as an instrument to express his philosophical theories. I would argue that, for Rumi, poetry is an instrument, but it is an instrument of a different sort: a poetic instrument, that is, an instrument to explore the nature of poetry itself. His loyalty to poetry led him to write what are k o as so e of the Fa si s est poe s. ‘u i as nonetheless at the same time loyal to his philosophy and the thinking element in his poetry, what Northrop Frye efe s to as the dia oia of the poe . Fo e a ple Divan-e-Shams” is one of the best poetry books in Farsi, one in which the thinking element comes out very strongly. Let s etu to ou o igi al poi t, If poet events, because the poet a d the poe is a li guisti e e t, ‘u i s poe s a e dou le oth a e e e ts i the od of la guage. That s h it 33 is e diffi ult fo ‘u i s poet to alk a a a d get outside of its e isti g la guage. Translating Rumi is something like pouring a whole river into a cup. Afte I lea ed E glish, I dis o e ed that the e e e se e al t a slatio s of ‘u i s o ks in English. It was amazing and at the same time shocking to see how many translations of Rumi actually exist in English. It was amazing, because I love Rumi and love to see him in different languages. But it was shocking because I hardly could see any of his maddening poetic se si ilit i the t a slatio s. Most of ‘u i s t a slatio s ha e e phasized o his thought, focusing on his ways of thinking and thus marginalizing his poetic imagination and technique. To fo us o this issue, I eed to shed so e light o ‘u i s o igi al o ks a d o pa e the to what has been represented in the target language (English) as his poetry. Rumi and his works ‘u i s works are of three different kinds: Mathnavi, Divan-e-Shams, and his Quatrains. I think it would be fair to say that in the Mathnav, Rumi appears to be a philosopher, a teacher or more likely a prophet. In the structure of Mathnavi, poetic elements are the inner objects, less important elements but his prophetic thoughts somehow get the priority and become the main concern of the poet. The issue of what to say becomes more important than how to say it. At the sa e ti e, the poet e e fo gets that he s iti g poe s, a d his poe s e e get lost in the process of working out his prophetic thoughts. The beauty of Mathnavi is that Rumi does 34 not attempt to express his philosophical and mystical visions directly to the reader; instead he invites the reader to get involved in his texts through spiritual practices, find his or her own way of understanding. The te Math a i is applied to a spe ifi ki d of poe , a d lite all ea s, a t pe of poem in which each verse (or two related lines) rhymes independently. Every verse in Mathnawi has its own type of rhyme. It would also be helpful to say that Mathnawi is a narrative or storytelling poem. Here is an example of Mathnawi, written by Rumi: God has named the resurrection "that day;" Day shows off the beauty of red and yellow. Wherefore "Day" in truth is the mystery of the saints; One day of their moons is as whole years. Know "Day " is the reflection of the mystery of the saints, Eye-closing night that of their hidden secrets. Therefore hath God revealed the chapter "Daylight," Which daylight is the light of the heart of Mustafa. On the other view, that daylight means "The Friend," It is also a reflection of the same prophet. For, as it is wrong to swear by a transitory being, How can we suppose a transitory being spoken of by God? The Friend of God said, "I love not them that set?" How, then, could Allah have meant a transitory being? Again, the words "by the night" mean Muhammad's veiling, Namely, the fair earthly body that he bore; When his sun proceeded from heaven on high Into that body's night, it said, "He hath not forsaken thee;" Union with God arose out of the depth of that disgrace; That boon was the wo d, "He hath ot ee displease. (32) Rumi makes his reader part of the story, a significant part of creating the story. With the involvement of reader in reading and creating the imaginative narratives, Mathnawi becomes a very interactive text. 35 The Divan-e-Sham is a master piece of love poetry in the structure of the Ghazal. The Ghazal is one the finest Persian poetic forms, of mostly love poems. It is made up of couplets, two- line stanzas. The first line and every second line of each stanza are rhymed. It seems that each couplet is independent from the whole poem and follows different issues but actually all lines work together. The Divan-e-Sham is known as one of the best love poetry books in Farsi. Shahriar Shahriari, an Iranian scholar of Rumi ites: The aste of h e a d h th is su h that he (Rumi) often creates a new vocabulary, using the same old words, yet creating new feelings that a e asso iated ith the To sho (32). hat e a tl a Ghazal looks like, he e s a e a ple, t a slated by Shahriar Shahriari: Tell me, is sugar sweeter Or He who makes sugar cane? Beauty of the moon is better Or He who makes it wax and wane? Leave all the moons behind Put sugar out of your mind I Hi a othe ou ll fi d He makes another kind of grain. O mind you may be wise In knowledge and insight may rise Or is it better to prize He who makes the mind insane? Body, soul, mind and heart With power will make a start 36 Yet in a drop, with art A hundred eyes will entertain. O love, O tumultuous love O restless bleeding dove This fire from above Makes love in your heart reign. With His love I am raw I am confused and in awe Sometimes my flames withdraw Sometimes consumed and slain. The ocean of loving grace T a es the lo e s fa e A drop of thought will replace A thousand pearls will remain. O Shams-e Tabriz, my pain A hundred ways my heart would drain Sometimes a blade, cuts my vein Sometimes the shield I urge in vain (33) ‘u i s Quatrains present his strange and deep thought in a very short piece of poetry. Each quatrain contains only two couplets, and the first, the third and the forth lines are rhymed but all four lines constitute the same metric weight. Here is an example of his quatrains, translated by Coleman Barks: Do t let ou th oat tighte with fear. Take sips of breath all day and night. Before death closes your mouth. (Rumi) Ru i’s Tra slatio s 37 Reynold A. Nicholson and Coleman Barks are two important names in the world of ‘u i s t a slatio . Ni holso –1945) a scholar of both Islamic literature and Islamic mysticism, t a slated a d pu lished olu es of ‘u i s Math a i Mas a i et ee and 1940. Barks, an American contemporary poet has published several books of Rumi translations. Barks does not speak Farsi and his translations are not actually translations. He edits or paraphrases other English translations of Rumi. His entire works are based on translations made by John Moyne and Reynold A. Nicholson. To explain this, I should say that Ni holso has ade e lite al t a slatio s of ‘u i s books; Barks has then tried to tweak these literal and discursive prose renderings. In other words, Nicholson has tried to transfer Rumi as a kind of raw material into English and Barks tries to turn these shapeless poetic thoughts into poetry. This issue itself expresses the problem of poetry translation. One poet, Cole a Ba ks fi ds the o ks of his p ede esso t a slato u a epta le t a slatio s of poetry and decides to re-t a slate were just a ost of his o ks. That ate ials of ‘u i s poe s ea s, fo Ba ks, Ni holso s o ks ought i to E glish, e e though Ni holso thought at the time to have offered full and complete translations of Rumi. Co side the follo i g e a ple of Ni holso s lite al t a slatio s: ‫ ه مج می رسوا شود‬،‫هم خود‬ ‫ب ف اد ا به پیش ِ م ت ا‬ ‫ من چ ین بوسید ام‬:‫لب بگوید‬ ‫ من بك دستم نا‬:‫ف ج گوید‬ ‫ چید ام سوء الكام‬:‫گوید‬ ‫گو‬ ‫ ه ن ا پیدا شود‬، ‫ِ محش‬ ‫دست پا بدهد گواهی با بیا‬ ‫ من چ ین د دید ام‬:‫دست گوید‬ ‫ من شدستم تا م ا‬:‫پای گوید‬ ‫ غ ز ك دستم ح ام‬:‫چشم گوید‬ ‫ر‬ as 38 ‫چو گواهی میدهد اعضا به پیش‬ ‫ا گواهی خصیه شد رقش در‬ ‫باشد اش د گفتن عین ِ بیا‬ ‫گفته باشد "اش د" اندر نفع ض‬ ‫س تا پای خویش‬ ‫آمد‬ ‫پس در‬ ‫آنچ ا كاندر ن ا ِ با ف‬ ‫ كا خود بی با‬،‫پس چ ا كن ف ل‬ ‫ ای پ‬،‫ عضو عضوت‬،‫تا ه ه تن‬ )Mathnawi, 782( Here is the literal rendering by Reynold A. Nicholson: On the Day of Resurrection every hidden thing will be made manifest: every sinner will be ignominiously exposed by himself. His hands and feet will give evidence and declare his iniquity in the presence of Him whose help is sought. His hand will say, 'I have stolen such and such'; his lip will say, 'I have asked such and such questions'; His foot will say. 'I have gone to (enjoy) things desired'; his pudendum will say, 'I have committed fornication.' His eye will say, 'I have cast amorous glances at things forbidden'; his ear will say, 'I have gathered evil words.' Therefore he is a lie from head to foot, for even his own members give him the lie, Just as, in (the case of) the specious prayers (performed by the ascetic), their fine appearance was proved to be false testimonio testiculi. Act, then, in such wise that the action itself, without (your) tongue (uttering a word), will be (equivalent to) saying 'I testify' and (to making) the most explicit declaration, So that your whole body, limb by limb, O son, will have said 'I testify' as regards both good and ill. The slave's walking behind his master is a testimony (equivalent to saying), 'I am subject to authority and this man is my lord.' (Rumi 133) And here is Barks' version of the same passage, On Resurrection Day your body testifies against you. Your hand says, 'I stole money.' Your lips, 'I said meanness.' Your feet, 'I went where I shouldn't.' Your genitals, 'Me Too.' 39 They will make your praying sound hypocritical Let the body's doings speak openly now, without your saying a word, as a student's walking behind a teacher says, "This one knows more clearly than I the way. (Barks 112) The Problems of Translating Rumi A ui k o pa ati e eadi g of Ni holso s a d Ba ks ould easil sho that Ba ks t a slatio s a e lose to hat e all poet tha Ni holso s. Ni holso has t ied to i ga nude, unwrapped and shapeless Rumi into English; instead Barks has attempted to re-create a poet Rumi for English audiences. As a native Farsi speaker and poet, I can say that Barks t a slatio s a e lea l lose to the sou e poe tha Ni holso s, ut the e a more to do to bring this poem into English as a poem. Ru i s o k is ot o l e so u h ou d i the world of Persian language and Islamic culture, tradition and mysticism, but also in the tradition of Rumi himself. Rumi has created a very unique tradition of mysticism and mystic poetry. It is very difficult to get to the othe side of the ‘u i s o ld. To gi e just a taste of hat ‘u i s poet e a ple of a t a slatio ade a tuall looks like, I ould like to so eo e ho u de sta ds ‘u i s o ld i ga o e poeti all . He e is a t a slatio of o e of ‘u i s ghazals by Shahriar Shahriari, an Iranian poet and translator: I went on a journey without me There I found joy without me 40 The moon that hid, could not see Cheek to cheek with me, without me For beloved set my soul free I was reborn without me Without spirit drunk are we Always happy without me Erase me from memory I remember, without me Without me with joy I plea May I always be without me Closed all doors, I could not flee Then I entered without me His heart enchained, on his knee I too am chained without me. B “ha s up, d u ke e His cup never stay without me (Shahriari 34) Poem One To show the problems of translating Afghan poetry into English and to see the real challenges that a translator may face dealing with Afghan culture, tradition, history and art in translating Farsi poems, I will provide some actual examples. Let’s assume that this research paper is workshop; you will follow a translator, me, while construing the cultural and linguistic variables in the hope of capturing something essential in the original poem. I chose several popular Farsi poems, written in the past 30 years. Let me describe the process of translation in more detail. In my first draft I would write a so-called raw translation of the original. I possess a native understanding of Afghanistan’s culture and language and so was best positioned to extract, as it were, these essences from the Farsi world. Dr. Jeffery Donaldson, the supervising professor for my research project would then, as he described it, tinker with the potential poetry he found in my English translations. We met every week to discuss line by line 41 every single page I had translated. We tried to spend enough time to match our translations verse by verse and, word by word, image by image, cultural value by cultural value, to provide a better translation, and estimation of contemporary poetry in Afghanistan. Let’s begin with our first poem. “Returning home” was written by a very popular Afghan poet, Mohammad Kazem Kazemi in 1991. The central issue in “Returning home” is the issue of migration and the uncountable problems Afghan refugees have faced in Iran. After Afghanistan was occupied by the Soviet Union more than two million Afghans took refuge in Iran. The poem mostly focuses on the lives of Afghans during the time of the Iranian state discriminations against these people. We can read the final version of our translation first and then I will discuss the details. Returning home — Mohammad Kazem Kazemi I will go at evening in the warm breath of the road at dusk I had walked all the way here and will walk back And it will wake me from the hell of my desolation The table has been empty, I will fold it away A id the glad shouts of Ne Yea s E e, dea eigh o You will hear no crying voice, dear neighbor The loner, empty pockets, will walk back The child, no ragdoll or plaything, will walk back It was me who roamed the whole horizon miserably Visible only at the crosswords waiting for work My bread in the brickyards: loaves of brick My table that is no table is full of hunger Every single mirror reflects my failure M ha dp i t a ks e e uildi g s i k By short bitter courtesies, they know me, they know me in this town as an Afghan Even if the backbone of the sky bends I will stand Let the world be full of Moljems, I will pray 42 And it will wake me from the hell of my desolation The table has been empty, I will fold it away I will go in the warm breath of the road at dusk I had walked all the way here and will walk back How could I not return to where the trench is To the pla e of othe s pilg i age a d g a e. How could I not return while mosque and altar Are there, with the blade waiting to kiss my head, In the foreign land I can wash for prayer But only at home, the readiness to pray, the prayer I take leave of you tonight, bent low You and your countless kindnesses, I feel ashamed I share the silence of your cold night The martyrs we have sent out, a shared pain A head was returned to you, only a bit of the whole star You did t see ou fathe ut his ashes These empty alleyways, you have said, make yourself at home You have borne the burned bodies with me on your shoulders You bled when I was struck with lashes You cleared the stones when I had seed and water Even though in our grain farms there was alien corn And even if that alien corn needed to be cut Even though your lasting tranquility became bitter If my kid threw a stone at your window Even though I was accused of a documented crime If I ha e dese ed the g a e sto e s u de i ou e es Do t delight i despai at the ti e of jou e Pretend to forgive me, my friends, I ill lea e hate e I do t ha e a d go I had walked all the way here and will walk back I “ ea to the I a that I o t take a thi g ith e I will take nothing but the dust of the holy shrine May God increase your rewards in heaven and earth And may the rest of your prayers be granted Ma ou hild e s po kets e full al a s And the bread of your foe, no matter who, a brick. 1 (Kazemi 12) 1 Translation by Mir Mahdavi and Jeffery Donaldson. The original poem may be found at Kazemi, p. 12. 43 Returning home is the central idea in this poem and also where it starts: where the road starts with its warm breath. It seems that the poet is shocked, seeing that the road is ready and a . The poet is hopi g to etu is al ead ead ith its a ho e soo , ut soo elo gs to the futu e a d the oad eath. The oad sa s o , the soo sa s ot et. The etu never happens because the poet has o he e to go a d the e s o ho e a d o ha e to leave. Evening is the suggestive time of day; walking is the suggestive means of travel. Evening Gho ou is a ig o d i Fa si poet : it s the ti e fo the su to set, a d the ti e fo egi offi iall its uli g . Gho ou jou e . The o d e e i g a is gloo ight to a d ould e o side ed the fi ish li e fo a ot e p ess the sad ess a d the se se of fi alit of gho ou in Farsi. Similarly walking in English comes with a sort of joy, a certain kind of relaxation, even ith the des iptio of all the a . Pe ada ea s a ki d of st uggli g to get so e he e, a rough journey by foot; a terrible trip needs to be undertaken with blood sweat and tears. The poem takes its own burden upon itself: how can it show that life is different than how it once was? Life for Afghan refugees in Iran meant a fight for survival; it had nothing to do ith jo a d happi ess. But life i the poe s p ese t is o pletel diffe e t; it s ot just a fight for survival, it now means a search for joy and happiness. Another issue is the cultural and eligious elatio ship et ee Afgha efugees a d thei hosts . Fo e a ple he the poet talks a out p a i g, he sa s Let the world be full of Moljems, I will p a . I Isla i histo ultu e, this a e, Molje so eo e ho is ot o l a a e; it s a u de s eaut . I Molje etapho fo a kille , a etapho fo , i o e ota le histo i al a ati e, has killed Imam Ali, the first Imam of Shiites, while Ali was praying in a mosque. In this poem, then p a i g is ot just a eligious te ; it a ifests as a politi al a t a d elates to I a Ali s a d 44 praying and his death. How was I to reflect this important nuance in my translation? How might a translator suggest the difference between two forms of praying and two meanings of prayer? The poem is historically and religiously bound to its own cultural expressions and to those whom it would most console. A translator will find himself in the unique difficulties of both separating the poem from its own original narrative, isolating or decontextualizing its historical and religious particularities, while at the same time trying to preserve them. For example when the poet writes: How could I not return while mosque and altar / Are there, with the blade waiting to kiss my head. A non- Afghan reader of the poem might miss the context here and therefore be confused. Why would someone wish to go back to a place where a blade is waiting to kiss his head? As we might now guess, this furthers the allusion to what happened to Imam Ali at the altar of the mosque. While our version has preserved one essential aspect of the Farsi historical and cultural context and accommodated it to an English sensibility, I can only feel, k o i g the o igi al as I do, that u h is still left to e desi ed i this e- eatio . The relationship between Afghan refugees and Iranian hosts is a very important issue in this poem. The poet tries to remain loyal to his religion and culture, but also ventures so far as to eedle, i a e soft a , thei hosts ad eha io to a d the efugees. “u h su tle tongue-in- cheek is very difficult to show in translation. Further when Kazemi says: I take leave of you tonight, bent low / You and your countless kindnesses, I feel ashamed…. When the speaker says ou tless ki d esses he a tuall ea s ou tless uelties , he he sa s. This would only be clear to someone who knew what happened to the Afghan refugees in Iran. My first attempt at an effective translation read as follows: I pass ou I asha ed of ou ou tless ki d esses. as I e t, to ight / And 45 In this version, I tried to show how utterly bent and broken the Afghans felt. I put the o d asha ed ea ou tless ki d esses to sho that the poet ho e e , D . Do aldso suggested that asha ed ea s the opposite of this, ou ou tless ki d esses ju taposed ith I feel ight e p ess the opposition more effectively. In translating poetry, the structure of the source poems will often compel the translator to follow the same structure in the target poem. For example in this poem, there are a pair of verses as follows: Man az sokoute shabe sarde tan khabar daram Shahid dada am az dared tan khabar daram I ended up re-creating these verses as follows: I a a e of the sile e of ou old ight I have given martyrs and feel your pain Gi i g a t s happe s to e a e a t t a slatio of the e fo i the o igi al Fa si “hahid dada . D . Do aldso p oposed a alternative verb and verb tense as a way of capturing the original nuance: I share the silence of your cold night / The martyrs we have sent out, a shared pain. I was aware of how difficult it would be to manage the particular cultural idioms of the Farsi original. I knew that I would need to re-esta lish a ta get idio a sou e idio fo . But he it a e to a tual p a ti e, I so eti es felt u e ual to the task. Let me give you an example of this. The poet talks about Afghan refugees and admits that these people are just people and that there are good and bad among them. He mentions that the Iranian hosts cannot judge the whole community of Afghan refugees based on the behaviour of an unethical few. He says: 46 Agar che mazra e ma dana haee jave ham dasht Va chand boota e mostavjebe derave ham dasht I translated these verses as follows: Our farm had some grains too, There were several seeds, necessary to be cut In its tone, the source poem somehow manages to admit the presence of certain bad people among refugees while pleading at the same time that all nations are the same in this regard. In d aft t a slatio , e phasis as e t ed o the o d too . I ealized that the word might not be able to bear that much pressure and therefore would not express what I meant by employing it. Together we came up with this variation: Even though in our grain farms there was alien corn / And even if that alien corn needed to be cut. As we can see in this version, we do t e e ha e a of alie o too ; i stead e ha e the idio . I the o igi al poe , the etapho is alie o . I did t at fi st like the idea o e i di e t: i a heat fa , the e a e uninvited grains. Dr. Donaldson suggested that we might attempt an allusion to the phrase alie o that Joh Keats used i his poe Ode to a Nighti gale i efe e e to The Book of Ruth in the Bible, where it suggests something melancholy and undesirable. This accommodation of an English allusion I feel has expanded the imaginative range of the poe so se si ilit . That is to sa , that hile the spe ifi la guage a d etapho diffe s from that of the original, the image nonetheless captures both the emotional temperature of 47 the original, and further, mimics the sense of an expanded cultural resonance, there in the Farsi idiom, here in a Keatsian one. Poem Two Mate al o e is the se o d poe that I hose to t a slate. This poe Afghanistan. Resistance is the e t al issue. Let s ead the hole poe some issues together: also is e popula i fi st a d the dis uss 48 Cartoon by Mohsen Hossaini, Afghan cartoonist, based on “Maternal One.” Maternal One — Abutalib Mozaffari Maternal one! We all became disreputable. The year of starved feeling wasted us Maternal one, your infant grew up, alas, your innocent child has turned to a wolf. 49 Mothe , e a e apti ated the “o e e s ho o s. The evil eye has made us naughty. Mother! Dispel the depraved curse of our behavior. Tie a talisman, your kindness, to our shoulders. Oh moon, we became tigers and you burned. We became gun owners and you burned. You have asked me, where is the moon, where are the stars? But to me, the sky itself is a mystery, its capacity. Whe e a e the uppe illage s aide s? Where are Golchehra, Goagha and Golsha?2 Golsha blossomed, grew up and became sullen She was carried off as in the parched desert of Taftan.3 Lucky Gochehra, consumed sorrow enough. One night at the border of the homeland, she was shot dead. She left a red feather behind and nothing else. Her honor, broken, has remained and nothing else. *** The globe is a goblet of blood and nothing else. It s a ou d, a fi e, a ad ess, a d othi g else. Tonight, the scrimmage of neck and steel is spectacular, the infernal attack of the wind is spectacular, blowing at the crossroads, rattling in the four corners. But I am an aimless wind wandering in the world. Now here I am. My two feet are swollen on the road. Now here I am, a traveler of the cold earth. Let me wash myself at the spring of blood. Let me speak to the mountain. My shoulders are a brother to this mountain. Let me speak to my brother. Me s a ushes a d shouts is a the e, its grove, an orphan now for seven years. And look! The old cedars have been rooted out. The tribes of lovers are in coffins. We sold the warhorse of pride, the sword and the bow. We sold the palate, the fiery tongue. The statues bend before the lovely bodies. Deviant men are addicted to the smell of gold. We sit quietly to ambush ourselves, hoping to watch our last embers burning. 2 3 Names for Girls in Afghanistan. Popular desert located between Iran and Pakistan. 50 We sit and watch raging snakes ithe f o a othe s d u ke shoulde . Some are planning to sacrifice honor and dignity to p ize the o ge e s golde alf, then killing themselves to put food on their tables. False worshippers, they have yet to see the storm. They have fled with their belongings. I leave them to their throne and their luck. 4 The poem starts with a greeting, a direct communication between a mother and her son. Here is the Farsi version of the first verse: Madar salam ma hamagi nakhalaf shodim [Maternal one! We all became disreputable] / Dar qaht sale aatefaha man talaf shodim [The year of sta ed feeli g asted us]. Salam (hello) is a key word not only in this verse but also in the hole poe . “ala i this spe ifi o te t does ot e essa il ea hello , o at least it means so much more than just a greeting. The son starts his conversation with his mother by sa i g hello o . I this o te t, he a tuall sa s I so o fo hat has happe ed . It a also e i te p eted as the so s happi ess fo seei g a o g all the ill a d disho est people that his othe is fi e. Fi di g a e ual e ough o d fo sala poi t to egi t a slatio . I ould t fi d a thi g ette tha i E glish as struggling hello a d fi st se te e of my translation became as follow: Hello mother, we all became disobedient. This sentence does not contain any sense of poetry in English. The first part somehow stays independent, a nonsense greeting, and the second part does not follow the greeting introduction. Dr. Do aldso suggested that I delete the hole ph ase Hello mother a d epla e it ith Maternal one . 4 Mate al o e is ot e a tl e ual to ada sala a d a ot aptu e all Translation by Mir Mahdavi and Jeffery Donaldson. The original poem may be found at Mozaffari , p 31. 51 the ua es that ada sala means. We re-esta lish e fa e of ada sala does i Fa si, ut that s hat the issue of e eati g poet ada sala o hello othe as ate al o e , hopi g that this ill ha e so ethi g of the sa e effe t i E glish. Diso edie t is also a e p o le ati o d. I Fa si Nakhalaf efe s to a pe so ho does ot follo his fathe s path. It has a e egati e ea i g. I este so iet diso e i g o e s parents is not a terribly serious offense. It is a form of misbehaviour. But it the context of Persian culture and the Farsi language it means someone who has lost all his identify. The e is e o i g ot aught ut oo e . Rhyme, rhythm and metrical issues make it very difficult to recreate the poetic environment in the target language. The poem is structured as a classical poem in a Persian metrical system, using a proper rhyme at the end of each sentence. To show how this issue creates translation problems, let me focus on the third and forth verses. Madar salam, tefle to digar bozorg shod [Maternal one, your infant grew up, alas] / Amma darigh Kodake naze to gorg shod [your innoce t hild has tu ed to a olf]. As we can see in this pair, the first sentence ends with BOZORG SHOD and the second one finishes at GORG SHOD. The word SHOD repeats at the end of both sentences. BOZORG and GORG are rhymes (BO+ZORG and GORG). Rhyme in Farsi builds up the structure of the verses and makes them musical. In the Persian metrical system a rhymed word, under pressure of the rule of rhythm usually plays unexpected literal roles. For instance they can refer meanings outside of their normal dictionary meanings. Based on this explanation, the rhymed words BOZORG and GORG are bound to the metrical system, playing very significant roles and having a very different musical effect. The first thing we might 52 lose in translating these two verses is the musical identity of them. Our translation offers very little of the original music. The musical identity of this poem cannot be separated from its final identity. Music, form, and meaning work together to unify a poem. In these particular verses, BOZORG (big) and GORG (wolf) are parts of a musical chain and linked to the whole system. Taking a word outside its literal roots and trying to make up an equal for it is not always possible. Cultural and geographical boundaries cause serious problems in translation. Let me give you an example in this poem. In the beginning we have a pair of verses as follows: Golsha shekoofa dad, javan shod, abous shod [Golsha blossomed, grew up and became sullen] / Dar dasht haee tafta e taftan arous shod [She was carried off as in the parched desert of Taftan]. Taftan is the desert in the border area between Afghanistan and Iran. Many Afghans took refuge in Iran through Taftan. In this area there were always gangs and guns taking the lives and the honor of refugees. Many girls were raped and took hostage, many young boys lost their lives. The poem refers to the girls who lost their honor and were raped in the area of Taftan. For a Farsi speaker the word Taftan opens up a history of violations that is quite simply lost in t a slatio . Tafta ust e e plai ed, as it e e, a d su h a e pla ation would necessarily deviate from the original, and sacrifice its historical and geographical specificities. A othe i po ta t issue i this ega d is the o d ABOU“ ith A‘OU“ sulle . This o d h es ide . The o d ABOU“ sho s the a tual face and reality of the parched desert of Taftan while at the same time it is linked to AROUS; or rather I should say that AROUS is linked to ABOUS, to the sullen and sad desert. The poem is these verses is talking about the life 53 of three girls. One of the girls was raped in a desert named Taftan, at the border between Afghanistan and Iran. The girl who lost her virginity in a forceful and unlawful attack; she somehow became a bride for those men who forcefully took her virginity. The poem tries to relate the heart of this sorrowful girl with the burnt desert of Taftan. In Afghan tradition virginity of a girl is normally meant to be preserved until her wedding. An Afghan or a Farsi speaking reader of this poem would make the association easily at first glance and would understand the grim consequences but it would be very difficult to capture these nuances in translation, without further explicit explanation. In my first draft of the translation, I tried to use the o d ide i a atte pt to e-create the whole environment of this verse. Here is my draft of these two verses: Golsha blossomed, became young and finally sullen / And she became a bride in the parched desert of Taftan. In discussion with Dr. Donaldson, we explored the following possibility: Golsha blossomed, grew up and became sullen / She was carried off as in the parched desert of Taftan. This solves some of our difficulties, but unfortunately in oth e sio s e still a ot see a li k et ee sulle a d ide . “u h a e the sa ifies of poetry translation. Translating cultural value codes is one of most challenging issues in translating poetry. Introducing unwanted but inevitable value codes from the target culture can also prove a nuisance. In this poem we have several points where a simple translation of the original would i t odu e e ultu al i fe e es that a e a se t i the o igi al. Let s just dis uss o e of these issues: ight afte the e ses that ha e ee dis ussed, the e a e des iptio s of Golsha : A z oo neshane sorkh pari manda ast o hich [She left a red feather behind and nothing else] / Az ma faqat shekasta sari manda ast o hich [Her honor, broken, has e ai ed a d othi g else]. 54 In my first draft I translated these two as follows: Her memento, just a red plume has remained and nothing else / But a broken honor has remained for us and nothing else. These li es pose a ha d halle ge: “hekasta sa i lite all ea s a oke head , ut the ultu al i te p etatio of this ph ase has othi g to do ith head ; i stead it deals ith ho o a d dignity. And as you may guess rape is the main cause of this dishonor. Let me clarify that the o d ho o a ot efle t the Fa si e ui ale t of “hekasta sa i o aptu e its se a ti and cultural weight in Afghanistan. This part of the poem is culturally bound to its origin and would be very difficult to re-create it in a different cultural value system. The last point that I want to discuss about this poem is the difficulty of translating culturally bound metaphors. Let me offer an example to shed light on this issue. There is a pair of verses, in the third part of the poem that reads: Khosh qamatan ba qadde do ta kho gerefta [The statues bend befo e the lo el odies] a d Mardane kaj ba booee tala kho gerefta [Deviant men are addicted to the smell of gold]. Khosh a ata the o e ho has the ost beautiful body) is a metaphor for beloveds. In Farsi literature, especially in love literature, the elo ed al a s a ts he lo e s atte tio a d eage ess. Tied to this metaphor is another e uall popula o e QADDE DO TA e t od . QADDE DO TA is a etapho fo lo e s. The e is an absolute opposition between these two metaphors, a kind of essential victory and natural failure. We cannot bring this opposition into English to show how this metaphorical opposition ould sti the eade s e otio s a d eternal war. oti ate the to at h o pe haps e e pa ti ipate i this 55 Poem Three: Translating Myself Poet a d t a slato a e usuall t o diffe e t pe so s a d that s o e of the eal challenges for the translator. To translate a poem or to recreate it into another language, a poet t a slato ust fit hi self i to the poe s o ld. I o de to full u de stand a poem in its full details, a translator must try to enter into that world and become part of it. The poet is a pa t of a poe s o ld, usuall a g eat pa t of it. I ot t i g to sa that the t a slato should sea h fo the poet s i te tio s ut I want to mention the fact that the poet is the one who shapes those o ds a d eates the poe . It ould atu all e e helpful to k o the poet s way of inhabiting his or her language and the world outside of that language. To minimize this problem, I chose one of my own poems and translated it into English. At the time of translation, I tried hard to be myself, to be the same person I was at the time the poem was written. What I dis o e ed, ho e e , is that it is e diffi ult to e o e the self I was at an earlier time, for instance, the self I was five years ago when this poem was written. I know that I as the o e ho ote this poe . I also k o that I still the sa e pe so , ith elati el few changes in personality. My problem was to catch the exact personality, the exact event, the exact taste of experiencing that event and dealing with that moment. In the process of translating, I found that it did not help to ask what i meant by such and such at the time the 56 poem was written, for the answer to the question would not help me to find a proper solution i t a slatio . What I eeded it to k o i stead as so ethi g like I do t a t to ake a judg e t he e a d ill lea e it to ho as I at that ti e? . eade s to de ide ho effectively the translation works in relation to the original. I think it would be very helpful to read the final version of my translation first, and then we can continue focusing on certaub points. Calligraphy — Mir Hussain Mahdavi Line by line God crosses out his mistakes to keep his own lines pure, a reddening of the rose of love in shame *** What I sa i g is this: God hi self Was his own biggest mistake the biggest threat to the creation God knows himself That he s o the hook fo ou i p iso i g cells On the hook for all heads, bodies, blood. *** The brides who went lively To thei g a e hus a ds lu k ho e. Thei ea i gs, ipped f o the like the ho se s A captive passed between hands earrings wrung from hearing God is on the hook for all of it Pulled down to the rings of hell idle 57 *** With all the evidence that he could call satan responsible for the shortage of bread or for the narrowed roads, unbelievable. God made them harder, these ways *** All eyes were on the rose in heaven Eve gave her breath to Adam her shoulders shaking in the storm of a chaste lust As soon as Adam Whispe ed s eetl i E e s ea God, distraught, took it all back the lines in the face of the Adamic Eve were shrivelled. *** Line by line God crosses out his mistakes to keep his own lines pure. As fo Ada s lo el e o s he responds with Satan. Let me confess I became merely the translator, and not the poet, when I was translating my own poem. I was dealing with the same problems I dealt with translating other people s poems. Let me describe some of the problems I faced in translating my own poem into English. This poem, unlike the two others, is a free verse poem and therefore, in translation, the e s o p essu e of deali g ith h e, h th , a d othe et ical issues. But instead the poem has a kind of inner musical melody, acting as a real metrical device. The poem starts by 58 e p essi g, o e e e hi iti g its i e usi alit e phasisi g the o d KHAT , lette KH and repeating them several times in the first stanza. KHAT (line) KHAT (line) KHAT MIZANAD (crosses out) KHODA (God) As ou a see, the thi d KHAT does ot ea li e a d a ts as o i ed e . A Fa si speaker would hear and recognize the musicality of these relationships as a clear sign of the classical Afgha et i al s ste . If ou e isit this pa t i t a slatio , ou ll see that I ould ot transport the inner musicality of the poem into English. Word-play is an essential poetic technique of any poet. It is very challenging to bring this i te io aspe t of a la guage to the su fa e a d ake it ig ate to a othe li guisti community. In the example of my own poem, I have used this technique on several occasions and it became part of my poem. The poem without its wordplay would be a lesser poem, certainly a different poem. Let me try my best to offer a sense of some of the original wordplay: KHAT KHAT KHAT mizanad KHoda Hama e KHATa ha e KHod ra 59 The fi st t o KHATs a e see as a o plete o d, hi h ea s li e ; ut it is also the fi st half of the fourth word (in the line that starts with Hama e KHATA...). Playing with the word KHAT and KHATA and using the word KHODA (god) relates the idea of human mistakes and crossing out all these mistakes with the power of god. This nice little play pulls all these issues together in three little sentences. The translation of these lines does t ha e the sa e a ilit to gather all these issues in one place. Here are the translations of those lines: Line by line / God crosses out his mistakes. We use verbs in the idiom of our own language and sometimes it would be very challenging to break down the idiomatic style of the verbs and change them to a formal style. Let s ha e a look at just o e e a ple: Line by line God crosses out his mistakes to keep his own lines pure, a reddening of the rose of love in shame I would like to ask you to focus on the last sentence of this stanza. Here is the Farsi version of this part: KHAT KHAT KHAT mizanad KHoda Hama e KHATa ha e KHod ra Va bad KHATA e aashena e mara Ba sib sorKH mikonad 60 And here is my first draft of the translation: Line by line Wipes off all his miscues The God and then roses my lovely miscue by apple to keep his own lines genteel If you pay attention to the forth line of this stanza, you will see hat s goi g o . ‘oses lo el is ue apple , o i its o igi al st le BA “IB “O‘KH MIKONAD is o pletel diffe e t than what we have in the final version of translation. My draft translation is based on what I actually did in Farsi, but that was not understandable in English and has been edited. I tried to sa that God oses hi h also istakes, ut that does t see ea s e ases to o k. “u h i age istakes ith a apple o god edde s a d o dpla a e e po e ful i Fa si and this particular example is one of the most crucial and poetic part of the poem. Alas, it will not translate. Conclusion 61 Afte eadi g the t a slatio of the th ee poe s, e a o ask, ho effe ti e ee the translations? After all, how much poetry could get to the target language? Can we call these pie es poe s ? In my opinion, in certain parts of the poems, even with all my efforts, it was impossible to eate e ui ale t effe ts, o to fi d i ages as effe ti e as the o igi al o es. The eason is that the poems are not just poems, they have cultural attachments with them, or the poems themselves have been extended outside of their poetic territory, into cultural or social arenas. Poetry in the process of translation is not an independent entity. It comes with cultural, politi al, so ial a d e otio al atta h e ts. Let s e-visit our first poem at one point the poet says: The loner, empty pockets, will walk back / The child, no ragdoll or plaything, will walk back. Many Afghan refugees in Iran have not only faced poverty and impoverishment but their sense of humanity was also denied by the systematic discriminations imposed by the regime. In other words, people had lived this poem and experienced it with their lives. For the a tual audie es of this poe lo e does ot just ea lo e , it ea s ei g sepa ated a d isolated from the rest of the society. And of course when they read this poem, they revisit their pains and they feel the extent of the loneliness again. E e fo the Afgha s ho ha e t li ed i Iran, they experienced a large part of their suffering in the poem through its linguistic and cultural particulars. But that s ot hat e a tl happe s i the t a slated e sio s of the poe s. In spite of all the difficulties, the translations can help an English audience get a taste of Afghan poetry. It opens a window of opportunity to the introduction of Persian poems and allows the audience 62 to experience aspects of the genuinely poetic in Farsi. Meanwhile the translations also show that the only possibility in translating poetry is re-creating the poem in the target language. I think re-creating poetry in the process of translation is the only way to transfer poetic experiences from one language to another. I tried to re-create these Afghan poems based on the idea of transferring them into English. I hope you can share some of the poetic experiences while reading the translations. But in the process of translating or re-creating Afghan poetry, i realized that as Afghan refugees were obligated to wander homelessly, these Afghan poems ha e a de ed i sea h of a e ho e. I ou fi st t a slated poe , ‘etu i g ho e , the poet e tio s this issue e lea l , he sa s: I had alked all the a he e a d ill walk a k . A d et he k o s that this alki g gets hi o he e a d it ill o l the hell of his desolatio . His a de i g ho e e is ot e ti el jou e oke hi fo ithout ake hi up f o ea i g. Just as his the hell of his desolatio , so these poems might be thought of as waking up in a new language that is not their proper home, but is which they need no longer feel desolate in their isolation. The Afghan poems that you have read, in my understanding, are left homeless, in the middle of two different cultures. They had tried so hard to take refuge in the English language, but somehow the cultural and linguistic barriers made it impossible to get through. I wish I could help them to reach their destination, but you can still try to help, to bring these foreigners into your home and make them feel at home. I hope you can help them. Works Cited Ahmadi, Wali. 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