Friday
Jan252008
Queneau Sonnets
Friday 25 January, 2008
From Beverly Rowe's website:
Make your own
The Breton tar lights up his duty-frees
d'aucuns par dessus tout prisent les escargots
any diner chooses escargots
le Turc de ce temps-là pataugeait dans sa crise
just as the Turk is deeply mired in sleaze
il n'avait droit qu'à une et le jour des Rameaux
all during Lent one fruit's the ratio
Le cheval Parthénon frissonnait sous la bise
The Parthenon horse is shivering in the bise
où venaient par milliers s'échouer les harenceaux
where shoals of herring boats now lie below
nous regrettions un peu ce tas de marchandise
that heap of goods occasions some unease
lorsque pour nous distraire y plantions nos tréteaux
to pass the time we stage a little show
Le généalogiste observe leur bouillotte
The genealogist can keep them hot
aventures on eut qui s'y pique s'y frotte
you mix with that you'll find you've had your lot
même s'il prend son sel au celte c'est son bien
he steals salt from the celt but owns the threne
On a bu du pinard à toutes les époques
We've all downed plonk from Calais to Bangkok
on mettait sans façon ses plus infectes loques
you start to travel looking like a brock
toute chose pourtant doit avoir une fin
clear from the start the ending is foreseen
Queneau's Cent Mille Milliards de Poèmes is derived from a set of ten basic sonnets. In his book, published in 1961, they are printed on card with each line on a separated strip, like a heads-bodies-and-legs book. All ten sonnets have the same rhyme scheme and employ the same rhyme sounds. As a result, any line from a sonnet can be combined with any from the other nine, giving 1014 (= 100,000,000,000,000) different poems. Working twenty-four hours a day, it would you take some 140,000,000 years to read them all.
Make your own
The Breton tar lights up his duty-frees
d'aucuns par dessus tout prisent les escargots
any diner chooses escargots
le Turc de ce temps-là pataugeait dans sa crise
just as the Turk is deeply mired in sleaze
il n'avait droit qu'à une et le jour des Rameaux
all during Lent one fruit's the ratio
Le cheval Parthénon frissonnait sous la bise
The Parthenon horse is shivering in the bise
où venaient par milliers s'échouer les harenceaux
where shoals of herring boats now lie below
nous regrettions un peu ce tas de marchandise
that heap of goods occasions some unease
lorsque pour nous distraire y plantions nos tréteaux
to pass the time we stage a little show
Le généalogiste observe leur bouillotte
The genealogist can keep them hot
aventures on eut qui s'y pique s'y frotte
you mix with that you'll find you've had your lot
même s'il prend son sel au celte c'est son bien
he steals salt from the celt but owns the threne
On a bu du pinard à toutes les époques
We've all downed plonk from Calais to Bangkok
on mettait sans façon ses plus infectes loques
you start to travel looking like a brock
toute chose pourtant doit avoir une fin
clear from the start the ending is foreseen
Reader Comments (1)
Hi
Thanks for the acknowledgement.
Soon I plan a revision of my translation. Any suggestions or comments will be very welcome - and fully acknowledged!
Bests
Bev