I just love this post Peck Gee. ( i just wrote profusely why, and then lost it!!! here goes again!)
Firstly I love how Substack helps us find kindred, and gather people who love the same things, in this case poetry and its translation.
I love how you honour both Lucia's and Hyon Woo's translations, and write about the nuances they bring out in their translations of your Grandfather's poem.
and I love how you honour your Grandfather here, by keeping his work alive.
I love Hyon Woo's first line "dissolving the city of grief", and I love the image's in Lucia's last line, "A hundred flowers unfold wide, laughing in my face.".
Through you all, I can imagine your grandfather, after the rain, seeing the hundred flowers open wide, laughing in his face, and in doing so dissolving his city of grief.
this is such a beautiful post. You have done your Grandad proud, Peek Gee.
Thanks so much, Debbie! I really appreciate that you took the time to share your impressions and reflections here. I love both Lucia's and Hyun Woo's translations and it also goes to show that we each filter the world through our lens. While things may seem different on the external, the essence is really the same. We should honor more of our differences.
While writing this post, I was also thinking of my late maternal grandmother whom I missed dearly and so fortunate to have dreamed about her lately. While she didn't have any written poems nor records, she left behind so much more - our memories together, seeing an extension of her when my kids smile, those are so so precious and it just seems impossible to capture them in words.
Wonderful, Yolanda! Thanks for reading and for appreciating it. Holding space for my grandpa's poem to come alive with two young and modern writers make me happy.
Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words, Baird. Hoping to share more of my late grandpa's fine words to convey what he must've felt during his time at that very moment.
I just love this post Peck Gee. ( i just wrote profusely why, and then lost it!!! here goes again!)
Firstly I love how Substack helps us find kindred, and gather people who love the same things, in this case poetry and its translation.
I love how you honour both Lucia's and Hyon Woo's translations, and write about the nuances they bring out in their translations of your Grandfather's poem.
and I love how you honour your Grandfather here, by keeping his work alive.
I love Hyon Woo's first line "dissolving the city of grief", and I love the image's in Lucia's last line, "A hundred flowers unfold wide, laughing in my face.".
Through you all, I can imagine your grandfather, after the rain, seeing the hundred flowers open wide, laughing in his face, and in doing so dissolving his city of grief.
this is such a beautiful post. You have done your Grandad proud, Peek Gee.
thanks to the three of you. 🙏
Thanks so much, Debbie! I really appreciate that you took the time to share your impressions and reflections here. I love both Lucia's and Hyun Woo's translations and it also goes to show that we each filter the world through our lens. While things may seem different on the external, the essence is really the same. We should honor more of our differences.
While writing this post, I was also thinking of my late maternal grandmother whom I missed dearly and so fortunate to have dreamed about her lately. While she didn't have any written poems nor records, she left behind so much more - our memories together, seeing an extension of her when my kids smile, those are so so precious and it just seems impossible to capture them in words.
Thank you, Peck Gee! Each translation has its space giving the poem a personal meaning into the translator’s world. It’s magical! 🙏🏽❤️
Wonderful, Yolanda! Thanks for reading and for appreciating it. Holding space for my grandpa's poem to come alive with two young and modern writers make me happy.
Hyun Woo's translations are so tender. What a pleasure it must be for you to hear your grandfather's words though his.
I appreciate the tone and mood of your writing, Peck. Very fine. 👏
Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words, Baird. Hoping to share more of my late grandpa's fine words to convey what he must've felt during his time at that very moment.
How beautiful to have these different translations of something meaningful for you
Thanks, Alison! I'm really glad I could share this moment of tracing my roots, re-living the past with you all.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Zoe! I love that you mentioned "the spaces between". The space holding the in between, so precious.