Grove City College professors will share some of their favorite international poems – twice – for “Poetry in Translation” at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Great Room of Breen Student Union.
The public reading will feature faculty from across several disciplines reading the poems in the original language followed by a recitation of an English translation and some brief analysis.
It is hosted by the Department of Modern Languages and Cogitare Magazine but conceived by two poetry-loving students, Sophie Spilak and Grace Cordle.
“Sophie and I both love reading poetry and studying foreign languages, and wanted a venue to expose both ourselves and the student body to a field which can be easily overlooked,” said Cordle, a freshman from Roanoke, Va. She and Spilak, a freshman from San Ramon, Calif., are both English majors.
“Poetry can reveal so much about a culture’s heart and mind, and if we want to become people who are sensitive and curious as regards cultures with which we are unfamiliar, reading poetry from that culture is invaluable,” Cordle said.
Dr. Kelsey Madsen, chair of Modern Languages and professor of French, is among the faculty members participating. She will be reading German poet Heinrich Heine's "Die Lorelei" and its English translation, "The Lorelei." The Romantic era poem is about a beautiful witch on a rock in the Rhein River who sings sailors to the deaths, very much like the sirens of Greek myth, she said.
“On the surface, the poem may seem like a shiny bauble, but it has a darker undercurrent that raises questions about the nature of beauty and longing, as well as potentially deadly power of words,” Madsen said. “The poem showcases the era's preoccupation with nature and folklore, and the poem's narrator expresses a sense of melancholy. Heine's rhythm and rhyme also propel the reader forward, flowing like the waters of the river.”
Cordle and Spilak had no problem recruiting faculty to share their favorite foreign language verses. “The process was delightful,” Cordle said. “All the professors were thoughtful and curious about the subject and willing to participate in our endeavor. I’m extremely grateful to be at a college where two freshmen are taken seriously by their professors, and where these professors are eager to invest time and energy into our academic success.
In addition to Madsen, “Poetry in Translation” features Dr. Kristen B. Waha, Dr. Mark W. Graham, Dr. Melissa D. Carruth, Dr. Aileen R. Ruane, and Dr. Seulgi Byun, who will be reading poems in Tamil, Attic Greek, French, Spanish, Japanese.
“While the event can only offer a limited glimpse at poetic expressions of wit and wisdom across time and space, I hope that attendees will walk away with a greater appreciation for other cultures, and especially for the work of translators who give us access to their words,” Madsen said. “Students will encounter a number of authors they may not be familiar with, and I hope they'll be inspired to do some further exploration of their own.”
“Poetry in Translation” is free and open to the public.