Nuala Ni Dhomnaill
The Pirate Queen
(born 1952 .. . .Raised in the Gaeltacht, has worked for radio
in Eire and Northern Ireland. Two plays for children; a full-
length play was commissioned by the Abbey Theatre. A prolific
writer in Gaelic, her Fear Suaithinseach (1984) won the Arts
Council prize for Irish poetry. A dual language version of her
Selected Poems appeared from Raven Arts in 1988.)
I know many people already know about her but not everyone.
And I don't care . . .I like her stuff!!
I'd make a bed for you
in Labysheedy
in the tall grass
under the wrestling trees
where your skin
would be silk
in the darkness
when the moths are coming down.
Skin which glistens
shining over your limbs
like milk being poured
from jugs at dinnertime;
your hair is a herd of goats
moving over rolling hills,
hills that have high cliffs
and two ravines.
And your damp lips
would be as sweet as sugar
at evening and we walking
by the riverside
with honeyed breezes
blowing over the Shannon
and the fuschias bowing down to you
one by one.
The fuschias bending low
their solemn heads in obeisance to the beauty
in front of them
I would pick a pair of flowers
as pendant earrings
to adorn you
like a bride in shining clothes.
O I'd make a bed for you
in Labysheedy,
in the twilight hour
with the evening falling slow
and what a pleasure it would be
to have our limbs entwine
wrestling
while the moths are coming down.
--
PQ
Storm-petrel chick
-----------------------
"Love is a wound within the body
That has no outward sign."
--- Marie de France
The Pirate Queen
>Given the number of poems that have been posted here in the last few
>days, its a relief to see one that already resides in Partisan Cheese
>(at http://www.wwa.com/~abardubh/poetry/kdpoem03.html) [;)] and thus
>reduces my future workload a wee bit. Anyway, a wee request & a
>suggestion if you don't mind. First, the request: Leaba Shioda was
>originally written in Irish, and even though Nuala translated it
>herself, the two are still different poems. It really does lose
>something in translation. Everything does. So for that reason, I'd
>really appreciate the Irish versions too. Doing our bit to support
>the First Official Language and all that.
Well since you already have this one that is good because there
was no translation in the book I got it from. In fact, there is only
one that I have posted that has the translation and that is Spray
by Biddy Jenkinson. I'll post the Irish version tomorrow but it won't
have all those little accent marks since I don't know how to do them.
Is that acceptable? If in the future, I have access to the Irish
version I'll post it.
>Second, the suggestion: it would be a nice idea to post some copyright
>information if possible. It helps readers track down the books if
>they get the appetite for further reading, and the publishers -&
>poets- need every encouragement they can get, especially since most of
>them tend to be fairly small houses operating on slim margins.
OK, good point . . actually meant to do this . . . .here are the references:
Mairg darab galar an grádh
(Love is a sad sickness)
Author: Isibeul ní Mhic Cailín
http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/irishptr/irepoems/mairgdar.html
(there are more here)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Nuala Ni Dhomnaill
Labysheedy
Eibhlin Dubh ni Chonaill
(From: The Lament for Arthur Cleary)
Madge Herron
Poem for Frances Harvey
Love Poems by Women: An anthology of poetry from around
the world and through the ages, edited by Wendy Mulford,
Fawcett Columbine, New York, 1990, ISBN 0-449-90538-1
nice collection of poems, book gives small bio and nationality
of each author
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Biddy Jenkinson
Spray
Medbh McGuckian
The Flower Master
Modern Irish Poetry: An Anthology, edited by Patrick Crotty,
Black Staff Press, Belfast, ISBN 0-85640-561-2, first printed
1995, reprinted 1996 (twice), 1997
gives both Irish and English versions of poems where applicable,
and contains very nice bios and some literary explanation/critique
Arkle
Queen" <ldo...@SPAM-FREE-PLEEZccms.net> wrote:
> Gearóid Mac Cuinneagáin wrote
>
> >Given the number of poems that have been posted here in the last few
> >days, its a relief to see one that already resides in Partisan Cheese
> >(at http://www.wwa.com/~abardubh/poetry/kdpoem03.html) [;)] and thus
> >reduces my future workload a wee bit. Anyway, a wee request & a
> >suggestion if you don't mind. First, the request: Leaba Shioda was
> >originally written in Irish, and even though Nuala translated it
> >herself, the two are still different poems. It really does lose
> >something in translation. Everything does. So for that reason, I'd
> >really appreciate the Irish versions too. Doing our bit to support
> >the First Official Language and all that.
>
> Well since you already have this one that is good because there
> was no translation in the book I got it from. In fact, there is only
> one that I have posted that has the translation and that is Spray
> by Biddy Jenkinson. I'll post the Irish version tomorrow but it won't
> have all those little accent marks since I don't know how to do them.
> Is that acceptable?
No, it's not. The accents are a very integral part of Irish and many other
languages for that matter. It would be the equivalent of misspelling
poetry written in English.
I for one, like to read the poems I encounter aloud. Irish poetry is
especially beautiful when read aloud, and without the accents the
pronounciation..... well, yer fucked.
Besides, it can't be that hard for a programmer to pút áccénts óvér
léttérs... ¿Cán ít?
It's really easy on a my Macintosh, just hold down option + the vowel you
want to accent and the hit the vowel again and ......¡víólá!
Course, you're probably using one of those Protestant computers, in which
case I have no idea how you do accents.
MMcC
The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen wrote:
>> In fact, there is only
>> one that I have posted that has the translation and that is Spray
>> by Biddy Jenkinson. I'll post the Irish version tomorrow but it won't
>> have all those little accent marks since I don't know how to do them.
>> Is that acceptable?
>
>No, it's not. The accents are a very integral part of Irish and many other
>languages for that matter. It would be the equivalent of misspelling
>poetry written in English.
>I for one, like to read the poems I encounter aloud. Irish poetry is
>especially beautiful when read aloud, and without the accents the
>pronounciation..... well, yer fucked.
>
>Besides, it can't be that hard for a programmer to pút áccénts óvér
>léttérs... żCán ít?
>It's really easy on a my Macintosh, just hold down option + the vowel you
>want to accent and the hit the vowel again and ......Ąvíólá!
>Course, you're probably using one of those Protestant computers, in which
>case I have no idea how you do accents.
You and Ger are ungrateful bastards . . .;-))) Here I am desparately
trying to infuse a little Irish culture into all this craziness and ya'll
are
gonna go and get all picky on me! . . . It's not enough that I am taking
my precious time to type all this stuff in but you want me to actually
do it right??
Aw hell . . . so I'll try to put in the friggin accents then . . the things
I do to keep you arrogant Irishmen happy . . . .(you know either one
of you could have asked me nicely but nooooooooo, you had to be
all Irish about it didn't ya?)
So then here is a request for you two . . . please record the poems
written in Irish and make mp3 files, then post them to Ger's website so
we can hear them in the beautiful Irish language.
(BTW, mp3 files work on a Catholic, Protestant, or Athiest
computer . . . )
--
Arkle
Queen" <ldo...@SPAM-FREE-PLEEZccms.net> wrote:
> Arkle wrote in message ...
> The Pirate Queen wrote:
>
> >> In fact, there is only
> >> one that I have posted that has the translation and that is Spray
> >> by Biddy Jenkinson. I'll post the Irish version tomorrow but it won't
> >> have all those little accent marks since I don't know how to do them.
> >> Is that acceptable?
> >
> >No, it's not. The accents are a very integral part of Irish and many other
> >languages for that matter. It would be the equivalent of misspelling
> >poetry written in English.
> >I for one, like to read the poems I encounter aloud. Irish poetry is
> >especially beautiful when read aloud, and without the accents the
> >pronounciation..... well, yer fucked.
> >
> >Besides, it can't be that hard for a programmer to pút áccénts óvér
> >léttérs... żCán ít?
> >It's really easy on a my Macintosh, just hold down option + the vowel you
> >want to accent and the hit the vowel again and ......Ąvíólá!
> >Course, you're probably using one of those Protestant computers, in which
> >case I have no idea how you do accents.
>
> You and Ger are ungrateful bastards . . .
Go raibh maith agat!
> ;-))) Here I am desparately
> trying to infuse a little Irish culture into all this craziness and ya'll
> are
> gonna go and get all picky on me! . . . It's not enough that I am taking
> my precious time to type all this stuff in but you want me to actually
> do it right??
> Aw hell . . . so I'll try to put in the friggin accents then . . the things
> I do to keep you arrogant Irishmen happy . . . .(you know either one
> of you could have asked me nicely but nooooooooo, you had to be
> all Irish about it didn't ya?)
Leopards and their spots and all that.....
> So then here is a request for you two . . . please record the poems
> written in Irish and make mp3 files, then post them to Ger's website so
> we can hear them in the beautiful Irish language.
Fer fuck's sake, you want Ger reading Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill in Donegal bog
Irish!!!! Jesus, you may as well ask some hillbilly to read Shakespeare.
We would need several recordings of each poem to reflect the regional
diferences in the Irish language. You're talking a major
undertaking....... there's probably a government grant in this somewhere.
> (BTW, mp3 files work on a Catholic, Protestant, or Athiest
> computer . . . )
An athiest computer?..... using a bloody computer requires more faith than that.
> --
> PQ
MMcC
The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen wrote:
>
>> You and Ger are ungrateful bastards . . .
>
>Go raibh maith agat!
Tá fáilte romhat . . . BTW, Cad is ainm duit?
The Pirate Queen
>Arkle wrote:
>
>>Fer fuck's sake, you want Ger reading Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill in Donegal bog
>>Irish!!!! Jesus, you may as well ask some hillbilly to read Shakespeare.
>>We would need several recordings of each poem to reflect the regional
>>diferences in the Irish language. You're talking a major
>>undertaking....... there's probably a government grant in this somewhere.
>
>dialect adequately. Only a Donegalman could convey the full-blooded
>carnal sensuality though.
Alright ya braggart . . . .then get busy . . . .I think you should make
Arkle (what the hell is his name anyway?) and Colin do it too. Then
I can be the judge . .. ;-)
The Pirate Queen
>Crazy Jane wrote:
>
>>Wishing to heaven that there was a location that would give me the
>>opportunity to 'listen' to the several dialects -- to pick up the
>>inflections, idioms, etc . in each.
>
>http://www.rnag.ie/gaeilge/misc/realaud.html
>
tried the downloads and the real audio links . . . missing files
in both
+Laura+
<37c59a71....@il.news.verio.net>...
>Crazy Jane wrote:
>
>>Wishing to heaven that there was a location that would give me the
>>opportunity to 'listen' to the several dialects -- to pick up the
>>inflections, idioms, etc . in each.
>
>http://www.rnag.ie/gaeilge/misc/realaud.html
Broken broken, outdated, broken.
--
Laura
~~~~~
...help me live for good tomorrow
today's too late and full of sorrow...
B. to C.
~~~~~
+Laura+
>You might want to check out the archive before posting any more, just
>to save the bother of typing what can be cut & pasted. :)
I'm constantly surprised by all the nooks and crannies to your site. Thanks,
didn't know those were there.
Pat Naughton
Arkle (in...@earthlink-nospam.net) writes:
>
> Besides, it can't be that hard for a programmer to pút áccénts óvér
> léttérs... żCán ít?
> It's really easy on a my Macintosh, just hold down option + the vowel you
> want to accent and the hit the vowel again and ......Ąvíólá!
> Course, you're probably using one of those Protestant computers, in which
> case I have no idea how you do accents.
I have no trouble doing the accents on my Mac, and I even have a bilingual
keyboard (French/English). For some reason though the accents mutate when
transmitted through Freenet, even though it's a bilingual organization and
the accents other people post appear as they should. I set things up as
recommended for Mac, but no luck.
I remember a big discussion about mutating accents on soc.culture.quebec;
all of us with Macs were dropping the accents because our perfectly
accented posts were mutating on the way to Usenet. I received this post
of yours with missing letters, all the ones I assume you accented.
Pat
Cute Cork Hoor
"The Pirate Queen" <ldo...@SPAM-FREE-PLEEZccms.net> wrote:
> >Arkle wrote:
> >
> >>Fer fuck's sake, you want Ger reading Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill in
Donegal bog
> >>Irish!!!! Jesus, you may as well ask some hillbilly to read
Shakespeare.
> >>We would need several recordings of each poem to reflect the
regional
> >>diferences in the Irish language. You're talking a major
> >>undertaking....... there's probably a government grant in this
somewhere.
> >
> >Colin Coops or yourself should be able to render the foul Munster
> >dialect adequately. Only a Donegalman could convey the full-blooded
> >carnal sensuality though.
>
> Alright ya braggart . . . .then get busy . . . .I think you should
make
> Arkle (what the hell is his name anyway?) and Colin do it too. Then
> I can be the judge . .. ;-)
Cad é seo? An bhfuil rud orm a dhéanamh, nó an bhfuil an Cuinneagáin ag
caint cac arís?
Colin
--
Frisbeetarianism, n.: The belief that when you
die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
K. E. Dennis
snipped, except for the last verses]:
> Is má bheirtear mac dom
> mar a thuar an tAingeal,
> ní Dáibhí a thabharfad air
> ná Immanuel.
>
> Ná Íosa ach oiread --
> tá sé sin ann cheana.
> Sé an t-ainm
> a bhaistfead air
> ná
> Cormac.
Trans:
> and if a son
> to me is given
> he won't be called
> Emmanuel nor David
> nor Jesus: that's over,
> leave them to heaven.
>
> I'll call him Cormac.
Thanks for posting that - it's charming, innit?
But something very important is missing <she says gently> - the
footnote, below. (easy enough to have missed it, as it's printed on
the next page….)
_Fonóta feimineach bliain ina dhiaidh sin:_
Mar a tharlaíonn,
séard a bhí agam sa deireadh
ná iníon.
Tá clúmh mín ar ghach orlach
dona corp
is ní baol di –
tá sí ciotarúnta gramhsach.
`````````
_Feminist footnote a year later:_
Unto me
as it happened
a daughter was given,
On every inch
of her body
this fine down –
berserk the light
of her impudent eye.
`````````
From: Mac Airt [trans., Tom Mac Intyre]
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
Pharoah's Daughter
pub. 1990, Gallery Press
``````````````````
Marvelous, don't you think?
respectfully submitted,
|K.E. Dennis den...@mail.montclair.edu
|My employer is not responsible for my opinions,
|regardless of how sensible they are.