It hadn't occurred to me to ask that question, Patrick.
I doubt that any of the current Aboriginal languages is generating poetry
these days either of the traditional sort or of the modern individualistic
sort.
English is the preferred language throughout Australia, it seems.
(In New Zealand, by contrast, the Maori people continue to add to their
great traditional poetry-hoard. Of course many distinguished Maori writers
of the 20th century write English, inflected often with Maori locutions and
culture.)
I gather that the Aboriginal languages had their ritual tribal poems
carrying religious meanings, and many were written down and translated by
missionaries and anthropologists. Some appear in anthologies of Australian
poetry, notably Les Murray's. His own 'Buladelah-Taree Holiday Song
Cycle'(1977) is declaredly based on a famous tribal cycle as translated.
Jack Davis, the playwright you asked about a while back, appears in
'Australian Verse: an Oxford Anthology' edited by my old friend John Leonard
(1988) - as an Aboriginal poet who wrote in English, as did Judith Wright's
protégé, Kath Walker (1920-93) who published in English under that name
until she renamed herself Oodgeroo of the tribe Noonuccal. No translators
needed.
Kevin Gilbert and Lionel Fogarty are in anthologies as Aboriginal poets, and
there are a few younger ones, females among them, whose work so far as I
have noticed is taken up for its 'protest' value as much as anything.
I mention them only to say that as far as I know, all of them write only in
English.
Max
On 13/07/11 5:32 AM, "Patrick McManus" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> How about Aboriginal poet translations??
> Cheers P
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Max Richards
> Sent: 11 July 2011 01:57
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Poetry and translation
>
> I spose such events are happening everywhere and often, but in Melbourne
> it's fairly unusual.... Max
>
>
> -- > Cross cultural poetry and translation Salon
>
>> A Melbourne PEN Freespeak event
>>
>> A celebration of cultural diversity bringing together local non-English
>> speaking- background poets and their translators to promote poetry,
>> translation and its publishing and, at the same time, to honour and
> promote
>> the ongoing importance of Collected Works Bookshop.
>>
>> Monday 25 July 2011, 6.30
>> Collected Works Bookshop,
>> Level 1 Nicholas Building,
> 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne, 3000,
>
> Tel. (03) 9654 8873
>>
>> Poetry in Vietnamese, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish and French with
> translations.
--
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