What speaks when no one speaks. Alice Oswald’s poetic practice as translation Cover Image

Co mówi, kiedy nikt nie mówi. Praktyka poetycka Alice Oswald jako przekład
What speaks when no one speaks. Alice Oswald’s poetic practice as translation

Author(s): Magdalena Heydel
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Poetry, Translation Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Poznańskie Studia Polonistyczne
Keywords: Alice Oswald; poetry; translation; poetry translation; nature; the body; rhythm; Homer; oral poetry;

Summary/Abstract: The paper looks at two book-length poems by Alice Oswald’s: Dart (2002) and Memorial (2011) as translation projects, with an aim to understand both the nature of Oswald’s poetic practice and her concept of what is the meaning and goal of translation in creative work. I claim that translation, in the special sense the poet gives to this term, is at the very core of her work. In my analysis I concentrate on the physical aspect of Oswald’s poetic practice, the role of the body, movement in space, muscular effort, rhythm and memorization of poetry in her projects. I also look at the ways of crossing the divide between the human and non-human, linking language to the voice of the natural world and returning to oral poetry in her work.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 33
  • Page Range: 309-326
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish