Renditions

By Reginald Gibbons

An energetic exploration of the expanse of language translated and otherwise transformed

In Renditions Reginald Gibbons conducts an ensemble of poetic voices, using the works of a varied, international selection of writers as departure points for his translations and transformations. The collection poses the idea that all writing is, at least abstractly, an act of translation, whether said act “translates” observation into word or moves ideas from one language to another. Through these acts of transformation, Gibbons infuses the English language with stylistic aspects of other languages and poetic traditions. The resulting poems are imbued with a sense of homage that allows us to respectfully reimagine the borders of language and revel in the fellowship of idea sharing. In this tragicomedy of the human experience and investigation of humanity’s effects, Gibbons identifies the “shared underthoughts that we can (all) sense:” desire, love, pain, and fervor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Four Way Books
• Release date: Feb 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781945588853

Book preview

SOURCES

ONE

Make up your mind, Crab!

You’re half inside your house, half

inside my own, now!

—after Richard Wright

Swear—

—by the cold beards

             of frosted stones,

by stoic stead-

             fast winter pines,

by the crystal-

             frosted window

where my lonely

             candle peers out:

swear: when summer

             comes I won’t let

even one skiff

             pass by on my

river without

             my inviting

it: Stop! Moor here!

             I won’t let one

singer stand at

             my listening

door without my

             saying—Come in!

Let us hear you.

–after Marina Tsvetaeva (1919)

Honeycombs and Cobwebs

Heaviness and tenderness—they’re sisters

the same way bees and wasps will ply

the same sweet languid rose.

                                                  Sands cool. People die.

Yesterday’s sun is borne away in a hearse.

Heavy honeycombs and tender webs!

It would be easier to lift a boulder than to speak

Your name.

                    But there’s still one hope—a