Charles Baudelaire’s The Abyss

Here’s Charles Baudelaire’s The Abyss.

Charles Baudelaire's The Abyss translated by R J Dent

The poem is from R J Dent’s translation of The Flowers of Evil, published by Solar Books.

Charles Baudelaire's The Flowers of Evil translated by R J Dent

Details can be found here:
http://www.solarbooks.org/solar-titles/flowersofevil.html

The Abyss has been set to music by the Finnish composer/musician Outi Tarkiainen.

The first performance of The Abyss was in Helsinki in September 2009.

Here’s the video clip:

Translation © R J Dent 2009/Music © Outi Tarkiainen 2009

And here are the lyrics:

Pascal had his abyss that followed him.

Everything is abyss: action, desire, dream – word.

I feel the wind of fear pass frequently

through my thick hair, which often stands on end,

up and down, everywhere, into the depths,

through silence, space, captivating, ugly…

During my nights, a god with clever hands

draws never-ending multi-shaped nightmares

and I’m afraid of sleep – it’s a big hole

full of horrors that lead to the unknown.

Windows show me infinity. Seeing

it, my hurt mind suffers from vertigo.

How I envy the sense of nothingness;

I’m never free of numbers or of beings.

Translation © R J Dent (2009)

www.rjdent.com

Charles Baudelaire’s The Albatross

Charles Baudelaire's The Albatross translated by R J Dent

Here’s Charles Baudelaire’s The Albatross.

The poem is from R J Dent’s translation of The Flowers of Evil, published by Solar Books.

The Flowers of Evil & Artificial Paradise by Charles Baudelaire translated by R J Dent

More details can be found here:
http://www.solarbooks.org/solar-titles/flowersofevil.html

The Albatross has been set to music by the Finnish composer/musician Outi Tarkiainen.

The first performance was in Helsinki in September 2009.

Here’s the video clip:

Translation © R J Dent 2009/Music © Outi Tarkiainen 2009

And here are the lyrics:

The Albatross

Often, for amusement, the sailing crew

catch that bird of the seas – the albatross;

companion on our voyage, it follows

the ship as it slides through the sea’s abyss.

When this once-great sky king has been dumped,

awkward and ashamed, onto the ship’s boards,

it pitifully drags its great white wings

along its feathered sides like useless oars.

This graceful voyager through shades of blue,

once beautiful, is now clumsy and weak;

one sailor mocks the cripple who once flew,

another stubs a pipe out on its beak.

The poet is just like this prince of clouds;

beyond range, above storms – these are his haunts;

exiled on Earth amidst a jeering crowd,

his giant wings won’t permit him to walk.

Translation © R J Dent (2009)

www.rjdent.com

R J Dent on writing

 

R J Dent on writing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a short video clip of me talking about some aspects of writing.

 

It was filmed by the Office of Learning and Teaching at the University of Northampton.

 

In it I mention some of the things I’ve found out since I started writing and publishing a few years ago.

 

Here’s the film:

 

 

I hope it’s of use to anyone who wants to write or publish their work.

 

I am available for Creative Writing tutorials. For further details, contact my office at:

 

info@rjdent.com

 

Note: Can you please put Creative Writing tutorials as the subject? Thanks.

 

 www.rjdent.com