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Thu
& Fri, 1 & 2 July
10: W-Orte ...11 poets attended, reading
& presenting; On 1st July 2010, 11 poets, all participants of the poetry p f poetry tREnD project, met with students, professors and the Director of the 'Writing in German as a Second Language' programme, for two full days of workshops and readings held at the Ludwig Maximilians University, the Literaturhaus, and the Lyrik Kabinett in Munich. Welcomed both as academics and as friends, the experience was rewarding and exhilarating... Organised by Aprilia Zank, who runs the Dichthauer translation group (and gave her final presentation for PHD virtually on the eve of the festival - as though she hadn't enough to do! ... and was awarded '1 - magna cum laude', no less), the festival brought together representatives of the project's participating poets and translators, with a view to deepening the understanding between us and extending our collaboration. The poets who attended are: Anne Berkeley, Gary Bills, Martyn Crucefix, Michael Curtis, Jacqueline Gabbitas, Kavita A Jindal, Graham Mummery, Peter Phillips, Anna Robinson, Anne Stewart and Seán Street. DICHTHAUER was almost fully represented... Heading the team, Aprilia Zank and translators: Anna Barbara Braun, Anna Hubrich, Christoph Hueber, Barbara Koch, Judith Königer, Chrissanti Moukrioti (Greece), Barbara Oberhäuser, Maria Luise Schlay, Lukas Sonnberger, Sabina Stiglmayr, Isabella Wiegund and Julie Winter (US). Prof. Jörg Roche (Executive Board, Professor of Liguistics & Cultural Exchange), opened the festival with a welcome to poets and translators and discussion of the importance of translation to cultural exchange. Anne Stewart introduced poetry p f and each of the poets attending. A marvellous film of interviews with members of the public, made by Anna Barbara Braun, Christoph Hueber, Dorian Zank and Armin Zank, which was recut to group responses together, was shown and the question was asked "Is Poetry Still Current?" - English poets (Blake, Wordsworth, Tennyson) featured remarkably often in the answers - and the overwhelming message in the responses was "Yes! Definitely still 'up to date' and definitely important..." Dr. Karl Esselborn presented in German "The Role of Translation in the Context of the Adelbert-von Chamisso Award", an award given for creative writing in German as a second language. Evidently witty and, thankfully, we have an English transcript! (but pending for now...) Workshops were presented by Anne Berkeley ('Enzensberger in Translation'), Jacqueline Gabbitas & Anna Robinson ('Swinging the Cat'), Kavita A Jindal ('Variations on a Theme') and Seán Street ('Cartography of the Mind'). German poems were translated into English, English poems were untranslated from German, German words were selected as spring-boards for new writing, and there was a unique exploration of new writing from common English phrases, such as 'cat got your tongue', 'not on your Nelly', 'Bob's your uncle' and the like. Presentations were given by poets and Professors, some in German, some in English, and some with their own integral translations. Graham Mummery (bravest of us all!) gave his presentation entirely in German. Dr Martina Liedke-Göbel gave instant translations during question-and-answer sessions following the readings - quite a feat, given the wordiness of poets and the complexity of some of the questions! - and with characteristic wit and humour, introduced each poet's reading with an analysis of the appearance of "W" in their poems. Talent in the Zank family doesn't stop at Creative Writing, obtaining honours in PhDs, and organising wonderful inaugural festivals... Gerhard Zank was in attendance, in between his own musical performances — he plays with the Bavarian Orchestra (Munich Opera) and is founder and violoncellist of the Münchner Klaviertrio (Munich Piano Trio) — picking up from airports, delivering to venues, and their sons, Dorian and Armin worked together to record and film most of the events. what the poets didn't know... well, the first 5 readers anyway, was that, once they were seated at the 'top table', and as each one was introduced, the screen behind them showed, in huge letters, a quotation from their comments on poetry sent to Aprilia several months before the festival. Not until, that is, Peter Phillips said that his next poem was about roast potatoes, at which point the entire audience burst into uproarious laughter... 'Behind you!' , some of us said - and there was his quotation: "Poetry has enabled me to write about food and drink, in particular: Chocolate, Roast Potatoes, ham and eggs, beer, strawberries and cream and fried chicken with spaghetti Bolognese on top. If this sounds greedy and shallow, it probably is." A selection of (post-festival!) comments from participants: It was such a great experience getting to know to all these poets. Now that I know them, I consider their poems even more interesting, amazing and beautiful. Besides that personal contact and the "lived" side of poetry, the workshops were really inspiring and helpful, too. We learned a lot about techniques of translation, about improvisation and creative processes. My interest in poetry has grown enormously! I think that was a fantastic example of an intercultural, interlinguistic and intergenerational encounter that asks for repetition! Anna Barbara Braun It was lovely to make so many new friends at the W-ORTE festival: among them fellow poets from the UK whom I hadn’t met before; and of course, the wonderful translators. It was a treat to hear the members of the Dichthauer project read their versions and interpretations of our poems. At the workshop I conducted I was very impressed by all the participants. The Munich participants were keen to undertake a big challenge – writing creatively and uninhibitedly in what was their second or third language: English. By the end they all had written a draft poem, with each poem striking an emotional chord, which had been the common theme of the exercise. The UK poets who participated all produced poems of wit and candour in the short time-frame. Thank you Aprilia and Anne, as the main organisers, and also to all the people we met in Munich, who were exceptionally kind with their time and friendship. Kavita
A Jindal The openness and accessibility of the poets impressed me very much. The teamwork in the workshop, the chat in the beer garden and listening to the reading were interesting and inspiring, and, moreover, a lot of fun. Many thanks for this wonderful experience. Judith
Königer I'd never been to a beer keller, only seen images of men and women with wild smiles and shorts, holding jug-like glasses to the sky. I quickly put my hand up and soon fifteen of us are sitting at a long table in the centre of town, beneath what looks like the equivalent of London plane trees. Sun filters through the leaves. Anticipation is everything. The beer arrives on trays; huge bedazzled glasses of liquid sun. Its cold light is soon flooding through me. To follow I have steak with onion gravy and roast potatoes, which were small, like marbles, not the golden nuggets I've been used to. Next day we visit another beer keller in the English Park. Perhaps it was the heat, or I wasn't concentrating, because I serve myself a litre of apple juice instead of beer... it was the same colour. I eat schnitzel with a bonfire of chips on top. There were no wild smiles or shorts. I feel a bit cheated. Peter
Phillips ... It was a really fantastic experience. Writing poetry is a solitary task. It is a concentrated effort involving communicating something exact to both oneself and an (often imagined) audience. Occasions when a poet gets to meet that audience are always special. The extra special thing about translation is that it involves an extremely close reading and getting to meet with and chat to people who have made that close reading of your work is a huge privilege. ... such lovely venues to read in and Martina Liedke-Gobel's introductions and live discussion translations enabled a greater understanding to be developed. Anna
Robinson We had no idea what to expect from this first Literature Festival in Munich, and we were a bit worried about how everything would go. But from the moment I met the poets Wednesday evening, I knew everything would be alright. I was immediately struck by the warmth, humor and kindness of our guests and how happy they were to be here in Munich. The poets' workshops were well prepared, interesting and enlightening. They were also just a lot of fun! It was enjoyable to work on translating questions again, but this time with the poets themselves, and to observe their creative energy in action. In the workshops we did hands on translating and collaborating, and it was fascinating for me to see the poets coming up with poetry on the spot. I enjoyed sharing my insights into the German language with them. But the highlight of the whole festival was the readings. The poems we knew came to life when the poets read them outloud, and it was a wonderful gift to hear them read other poems we did not yet know. I now want to read many more of their poems, and I want to discover other modern poets on the poetry p f website. And I want to continue translating! The festival made me see that that is truly one of my passions that I will pursue with renewed energy and interest. Thank you for coming to Munich and all the best! Julie Winter
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Ludwig - Maximilians University
Aprilia Zank
Martin Parker
& Anne Stewart Anna Robinson:
Jacqueline Gabbitas
Anne Stewart
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and here is the W-Orte ... |
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