Little lost in translation

Prof. An Son-jae of Sogang University, also known as Brother Anthony

Translation of poetry brings past into present, future

By Kwon Ji-youn

“Patterns” by Korean poet Lee Si-young, translated into English by An Son-jae and Yoo Hui-sok (Green Integer)

The translations of Lee Si-young’s poems only go to prove that art is truly a universal language.

Readers must keep in mind that Lee is not a poet who scribes in English, as this may slip their minds when flipping through “Patterns.” Prof. An Son-jae of Sogang University, also known as Brother Anthony, and Prof. Yoo Hui-sok of Jeonnam University together translated 125 poems from 10 published volumes of poetry dating from 1976 to 2007 into an album that vividly depicts Lee’s autobiographical summons of the past.

In the preface of the anthology, co-translator Yoo describes Lee as a poet “with a sizable audience … noted for his terse vignettes and homely humor.” “Patterns” is that rare book of poetry that demonstrates a deep human understanding ― of life, of suffering, of history. Lee was imprisoned several times during the 1970s and 1980s for his contributions to the democratic struggles against military dictatorship, and to hear his narrative poems in English is to take the past and make it a part of the present and future.

Brother Anthony and Yoo have kept alive the juxtaposition and the narrative voice in the translations. Some poems have taken mundane details from everyday life and transformed them into works that sympathize with people of all trades, providing foreign readers with a window into the lives of Koreans between 1976 and 2007. And he has not forgotten to give readers the occasional laugh _ look out for “Amusing News” on page 227.

A quick glance at a few of the originals says not much has been lost in translation, which is what usually makes the translation of poetry so demanding and intricate _ Korean poems boast a lexicon and nuance that is difficult to transpose into another language. But in “Patterns,” enough has been retrieved to maintain the poet’s historical cognizance and lilting stir.

“Lee’s poems themselves are not too difficult. Some are very short and many are about political events in the 1970s and 80s,” said Brother Anthony. “But the more difficult part of translating ‘Patterns’ was finding a publisher.”

Brother Anthony takes a particular liking to poems about Lee’s hometown, Gurye, in South Jeolla Province, a place he visits often.

“There is a small neighborhood near the Hwaeomsa Temple,” he recalled. “(Lee’s poems) remind me of that countryside neighborhood in the 1950s and 60s.”

“Patterns” is the first single-volume translation of Lee’s poetry. Lee, born in 1949, began publishing poetry in 1969. His first full volume was printed in 1976 and his second, in 1986. His most recent works have been published in “For Our Dead” (2007). He is head of the International Creative Writing Center at Dankook University.

Brother Anthony is a translator, scholar and member of the Taize Community who became a naturalized Korean citizen in 1994. He was born in 1942 in Britain, but came to Korea in May 1980 at the invitation of Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan, former Catholic Archbishop of Seoul. Here, he began teaching for the English Department of Sogang University. He has published some 30 Korean poetry books over 20 years including several of Ko Un’s anthologies, and he will next greet readers with another translation of Ko's poetry.

Yoo is a professor of English at Jeonnam University, and has served as scholar of contemporary Korean literature.

Follow Kwon Ji-youn on Twitter @jennajykwon