- Paperback: 260 pages
- Publisher: Curbstone Press; 1 edition (Sep 1 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1880684616
- ISBN-13: 978-1880684610
- Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 13.9 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 381 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Product Description
From Kirkus Reviews
Distant Road ($15.95 paperback original; Nov.; 268 pp.; 1-880684-61-6) is the first English translation of Vietnams most prolific and widely read poet. Bowen and Chungs volumea facing-page translation that reproduces the original Vietnamese piecestries to be as comprehensive as possible, drawing on poems from all stages of Duys career. Born in Thanh Hoa in 1948, Duy served with distinction in the North Vietnamese Army, and many of his poems draw upon his combat experiences, as well as upon the difficulties he faced as a writer in the Communist regime that was established after US withdrawal. Chungs introduction provides a useful sketch of Duys life and situates his career within the context of modern Vietnamese history. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"...an extended love poem to Vietnam, and to the enduring nobility of its people." -- New York Times Book Review
"Duy's quietly potent war poems are unforgettable." -- The Boston Sunday Globe
"...the first English translation of Vietnams most prolific and widely read poet..." -- Kirkus Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review Quotes,
This review is from: Distant Road: Selected Poems of Nguyen Duy (Paperback)
"Here is a Vietnamese Whitman: a poet who loves his country, trapped in a brutal conflict between North and South, a poet who embraces chaos and sculpts it into song. His darkest poems leave room for collective rebirth, or at least survival. 'Whatever happens, the land lives within us,' he writes. 'We are the people--we will endure.'" --Catherine A. Salmons, The Boston Sunday Globe"Duy's quietly potent war poems are unforgettable." --The Boston Sunday Globe "The English translation reveals Nguyen Duy as a passionate voice, one of courage and conviction, hope and love. He mines the beauty of simple, direct language in a way that is personal and political, without rhetoric or didacticism." --Lori Tsang, Multicultural Review "...an extended love poem to Vietnam, and to the enduring nobility of its people." --Philip Gambone, The New York Times Book Review
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rare instance of good poetry translation,
This review is from: Distant Road: Selected Poems of Nguyen Duy (Paperback)
There's a saying in a foreign language, meaning something like "to translate is to betray." That the saying itself can't be translated smoothly is very revealing of the difficulties facing a translator of literary works.Especially poetry. You can't read, say, Shakespeare sonnets in another language without thinking that the Bard is spinning in his grave. There is no perfect translation of poetry. And this one ain't perfect. But it is pretty darn good. The imageries translate well, though the clever sounds are mostly lost. That can't be helped -- if you can't keep the clever sound in "traduire c'est trahir" in the English "to translate is to betray", then you have to live without the clever sounds in Nguyen Duy's poetry. Nguyen Duy is the first poet to sound the alarm over the decaying state of the Vietnamese economy, morals, public spirit, and morale. He is a rare North Vietnamese poet to grieve over the tragedy of the boat people (mostly southerners). He called for "doi moi" (VN's perestroika) years before the government would do so. But he is not a political dissident. That is not a poet's job. A poet speaks to one's conscience, not one's vote. Nguyen Duy has done so, in style. And the translation manages to keep much of that style.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rare instance of good poetry translation,
By Hao-Nhien Q. Vu - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Distant Road: Selected Poems of Nguyen Duy (Paperback)
There's a saying in a foreign language, meaning something like "to translate is to betray." That the saying itself can't be translated smoothly is very revealing of the difficulties facing a translator of literary works.Especially poetry. You can't read, say, Shakespeare sonnets in another language without thinking that the Bard is spinning in his grave. There is no perfect translation of poetry. And this one ain't perfect. But it is pretty darn good. The imageries translate well, though the clever sounds are mostly lost. That can't be helped -- if you can't keep the clever sound in "traduire c'est trahir" in the English "to translate is to betray", then you have to live without the clever sounds in Nguyen Duy's poetry. Nguyen Duy is the first poet to sound the alarm over the decaying state of the Vietnamese economy, morals, public spirit, and morale. He is a rare North Vietnamese poet to grieve over the tragedy of the boat people (mostly southerners). He called for "doi moi" (VN's perestroika) years before the government would do so. But he is not a political dissident. That is not a poet's job. A poet speaks to one's conscience, not one's vote. Nguyen Duy has done so, in style. And the translation manages to keep much of that style.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review Quotes,
By Curbstone Press, Jantje Tielken, Editorial As... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Distant Road: Selected Poems of Nguyen Duy (Paperback)
"Here is a Vietnamese Whitman: a poet who loves his country, trapped in a brutal conflict between North and South, a poet who embraces chaos and sculpts it into song. His darkest poems leave room for collective rebirth, or at least survival. 'Whatever happens, the land lives within us,' he writes. 'We are the people--we will endure.'" --Catherine A. Salmons, The Boston Sunday Globe"Duy's quietly potent war poems are unforgettable." --The Boston Sunday Globe "The English translation reveals Nguyen Duy as a passionate voice, one of courage and conviction, hope and love. He mines the beauty of simple, direct language in a way that is personal and political, without rhetoric or didacticism." --Lori Tsang, Multicultural Review "...an extended love poem to Vietnam, and to the enduring nobility of its people." --Philip Gambone, The New York Times Book Review |
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