Dear friends and visitors,
Bikarija Gallery and Stari Grad Museum are pleased to invite you to the promotion of Jack Gilbert‘s collection of poems entitled Translation Into the Original on Wednesday, 19 August at 9pm at the Stari Grad Museum (garden of the Biankini Palace).
The collection will be presented by Lora Tomaš and Ana Jelnikar, while the poems will be read by Aldo Čavić and Peter McGuire.
Translation Into the Original is a selection of thirty-five poems by the American poet Jack Gilbert taken from his opus of Collected Poems (2012) and translated into Croatian for the first time. It follows his five books from Views of Jeopardy (1962) to The Dance Most of All (2009). With precision and devoid of sentimentality, Gilbert translates personal experience — be it falling in love or failing in relationship, desire or seclusion, aging or death — into the language of poetry, into the original, at the same time aware of the precariousness of such a feat. Language itself is imperfect. “Poetry”, claims the poet, “is a kind of lying”. It is also a way of confronting us, catching us unguarded. Translation into the Original invites us to follow the poet in exploring this essential paradox.
The publisher of the collection is Založba ZRC, and it was published in the bilingual and carefully designed book series Hermit Crab. Hermit Crab aims to infuse new life into forgotten, as yet untranslated, or unpublished short texts from the past that resonate with our times. Like the hermit crab, texts inhabit many temporary dwellings, finding ever new ‘homes’ as time progresses. Our independent venture provides these overlooked gems with their latest home in Croatian language. Bilingual in format and bibliophile in design, we hope our approach will invite many meaningful readings.
We invite you all to the Museum and look forward to your visit!