Dec 1, 2011 17:42
12 yrs ago
Spanish term
las hierbas de los placeres de la ciudad
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
contemporary Cuban poetry
This is contained in a poem by Cuban Nancy Morejon, talking about a boy who has grown up on the streets of a Havana slum but who is kind and generous to everyone. The entire passage is this
Vivio sin conocer las letra impresa,
sin haber leido las sagradas escrituras
en los libros suntuosos
pero era un sabio ante cualquier proverbio,
ante cualquier circunstancia amarga
y ante las hierbas de los placeres de la ciudad.
Vivio sin conocer las letra impresa,
sin haber leido las sagradas escrituras
en los libros suntuosos
pero era un sabio ante cualquier proverbio,
ante cualquier circunstancia amarga
y ante las hierbas de los placeres de la ciudad.
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
35 mins
Selected
the weeds of the pleasures of the city
self-explanatory. I think the meter sounds ok, depending on the rest of the translation
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "This suggestion is in keeping with the rest of my translation in style, rhythm and directness of expression. Thank you."
1 hr
confronted by the weeds of the city's pleasures
This would be my way of translating this part of the poem. I don't know if it's intentional, but the poem is missing the accents and it should be "la letra impresa" not "las tetra impresa"
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Note added at 1 hr (2011-12-01 19:12:57 GMT)
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Vivió sin conocer la letra impresa,
sin haber leído las sagradas escrituras
en los libros suntuosos
pero era un sabio ante cualquier proverbio,
ante cualquier circunstancia amarga
y ante las hierbas de los placeres de la ciudad.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-12-01 19:17:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
probably it would be better to add "when":
and when confronted by the weeds of the city's pleasures
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-12-01 19:12:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Vivió sin conocer la letra impresa,
sin haber leído las sagradas escrituras
en los libros suntuosos
pero era un sabio ante cualquier proverbio,
ante cualquier circunstancia amarga
y ante las hierbas de los placeres de la ciudad.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-12-01 19:17:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
probably it would be better to add "when":
and when confronted by the weeds of the city's pleasures
+1
14 hrs
the city's rank pleasures
rank: "growing too thickly and coarsely"
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Jenni Lukac (X)
2 days 2 hrs
|
thanks so much Jenni, best regards! - Deborah
|
20 hrs
the untamed pleasures of the city
I would have rather read the whole poem, but could not locate it on the Internet.
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