lexico

lexico is a new project from Michael Zand:

Essentially, lexico is all about poetry in translation. We are not talking about ”straight” translations, i.e. when we take words in the original language and transposing them into the English. In most cases these sorts of translations are available elsewhere or, if not, I would recommend using “google translate”.

Instead, the aim is to produce what Walter Benjamin calls “aura of the original text”. New creative material will be introduced, often to make the writings more contemporary, more challenging or even more disruptive. I will as the translator try very hard to be as subjective as possible, introducing my own ideas and literary affectations at every available opportunity. The ultimate aim is, to quote Benjamin again, “to go beyond the life (leben) of the original and to give it a higher life (uberleben) which transcends the limitations of time, culture and place”.

There will a new poem posted ever week, along with a brief description of the poet concerned and the background to the piece in question.

via Marcus Slease