Just six months after “In Other Words”, its inaugural festival of poetry in translation, World Poetry proudly presented another first: an anthology of poetry from four poets writing in languages other than English. Two of the poets, Bruce Pascoe and Vanessa Fisher, are indigenous Australians who write in their respective languages and in English. Of the other two poets, Cristina Neesham is Romanian and Hidayet Ceylan comes from Turkey.
This anthology goes to the core of diversity. Diversity in language, culture, history, spirituality, and literary styles. It is a modest publication, yet the themes between its covers reveal each of the authors' concerns with place and identity. These range from Hidayet Ceylan's concerns with spiritual and contemporary issues to Bruce Pascoe's and Vanessa Fisher's cogent concerns with the history of their country. Vanessa's poems, which have been described as "gems of enchantment", hark back to antiquity, but are also very much connected to the present. Cristina Neesham's contribution resonates with the personal at the same time that it draws upon the universal sphere of women's experiences.
The poetic styles range from the experimental, such as Bruce Pascoe's signpost poem "Singing up the country" which is "a recitation of Colac district place names in verse meant as an incitement for people to learn their country", to the self-referential, deeply reflective and elegantly composed poetry of Cristina Neesham. Hidayet Ceylan’s poems follow traditionally strict rules of rhyme and metre and become musical compositions which can either be read or recited as chants. Vanessa Fisher’s poems, with their lyrical structure, are ideally presented through the medium of dance, singing, and chanting, thus drawing in the audience.
In this anthology we also find interesting differences in translation styles or approaches, such as parallel texts in the case of Cristina Neesham and Hidayet Ceylan, and line by line translation as practised by Vanessa Fisher.
This publication was first of all made possible by the generosity of the three organisations which provided the money for the encouragement awards presented at the Festival, i.e. the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages, Readings Books and Music and the Elysium Group Pty Ltd. Indispensable assistance also came from the Victorian chapter of the Fellowship of Australian Writers which not only offered to publish the anthology, but also to cover any financial shortfalls.
Through it all, Multicultural Arts Victoria, under whose auspices World Poetry operates, continues to offer its support and encouragement. All the support World Poetry has received to date, both in actual and in social capital, seem to indicate that its efforts at making the Australian literary scene more inclusive are striking a chord, that there are others who are convinced that literature written in other languages deserves more than an occasional airing.
What also appears to have struck a chord is World Poetry’s insistence on giving pre-eminence to Aboriginal writings, for only by honouring the Aboriginal nations’ heritage and respecting their languages and finding joy in them, can we open our hearts and minds to the languages of people who have come here from other parts of the world.
Lella Cariddi
Janna Hilbrink
