One of my favorite little things to write are translator’s notes. These are short introductions where I offer context on poems I’ve translated and the translation process. Sometimes I use them to explore themes I detect in the poems, and to write about the effect translation has had on me as a poet. I thought it might be helpful to include a list of these notes, separate from my lists of published translations. I’m still collecting these, and may have forgotten a few.

Sutzkever notes:

Translator’s Note: “The Blade of Grass from Ponar” by Avrom Sutzkever

Published in Poetry Magazine

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/70170/translators-note-the-blade-of-grass-from-ponar-by-abraham-sutzkever

Themes: Poetic process, translation process, Vilna Ghetto

Translator’s Note: “My Ghetto Neighbor” by Avrom Sutzkever

http://waxwingmag.org/items/issue19/55_Evrona-Translators-Note.php

Themes: Vilna Ghetto, post-traumatic stress, survivorship

“One Lives a Long Life in Honor of Another and Counts the Stars for Him Until Dawn…”

http://circumferencemag.org/?p=3829&fbclid=IwAR19ezA4z9WMMyXFG0o_DNbd-JqmwvToUSGtI8zpY9yTO-kwcws6t_RbQAk

Themes: Survivorship, refugee experience, Jewish experience in World War I

Three Poems by Abraham Sutzkever Translated from the Yiddish