Translation

Reviewed Poetry Book: Canzoniere by Petrarch, Translated by A.M. Juster, Liveright (Norton) Publishing, 2026 by Margaret Coats A.M. Juster, longtime member of the Society of Classical Poets, has completed the only full English translation of Petrarch’s Canzoniere in formal verse corresponding to the Italian original. Why read it? In reading...

  Three Brief Poems by Luxorius (circa A.D. 500s) translated from Latin by Joseph S. Salemi   11. A Phalaecean poem against a lecher, because he wept that when drunk he could not perform the act of coition. You swive too often, and too frequently— You don’t let up, unless...

  Archaic Torso of Apollo by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) translated from German by Mary Jane Myers We'll never know his head, its mythic fame, the fiery ripening-apple eyes, although his torso casts a candelabra’s glow, the gaze now dialed down to a lower flame, its gleam preserved. Or else...

  Ode I.11 by Horace (circa 84-54 BC) translated from Latin by Mary Jane Myers Locónoé, the gods decree the destined lives of you and me. Toss out Chaldean horoscopes, we're not to know, though we have hopes. It's better patiently to bear the firm diktats of Jupiter. We might...

  Poem 5 by Catullus (circa 84-54 BC) translated from Latin by Mary Jane Myers Ah, Lesbia, lust’s our sweet pastime. Old codgers censure us en bloc. Their gossip’s worth not one thin dime. Dawn always breaks in each epoch, but our span’s brief. Life’s suns soon set, we slumber...

  The Sowers by Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863-1938) translated from Italian by Joseph S. Salemi Strong lads drive the docile oxen through The field. Behind them open furrows steam As plowshares tear the ground in preparation For the sowers’ casting of the grain. Then with a sweeping gesture of their arms...

Cato of Utica: Canto I of Purgatory by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated from Italian by Stephen Binns Dante and Virgil emerge from the Inferno, having followed the course of the Lethe, the  river of forgetfulness. Here they are once again under sky and stars, though unfamiliar  stars: this is an...

  To May, the Prince of Months by Eustache Deschamps (1346–1406), translated from French by Margaret Coats Noble month, father to Zephyr balmy, Brother to Pallas, Juno’s uncle―and lo, Kissing cousin caught by Venus’ beauty, Unnumbered sons and daughters you can show. Through love you make new leaves and flowers...

  Poem 1 by Sappho (circa 630-570 B.C.) translated from Greek by Bruce Phenix Immortal Aphrodite, richly throned, wile-weaving child of Zeus, receive my prayer: do not, my mistress, overwhelm my heart ___with pain or care, but come here, if at any other time you heard me, at a distance,...

  Stabat Mater Dolorosa by Jacopone da Todi (1228-1306) translated by Morrison Handley-Schachler In the hour of crucifixion, Mourning and in deep affliction, Once a tearful mother stood, From grief’s sword-thrust undefended, While her world hung there suspended From the coarse and shameful wood. How distressed was that dejected Mother...

    The Bridge by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) translated from French by Joy Nevin Axelson Shadows before me. An abyss without light, without shores or summits, with no end in sight. So mournful, immense, so vast, without movement. I was lost in its infinite depths so silent. Deep down, through...

  Mother’s Loom ---after Li Bai's poem "Midnight Song of Wu" The moon above the palace, Reigns bright within the gloom, And mothers seeking solace, Work quietly at the loom. Cold autumn breezes shear Away their fondest tears, "Oh when'll my sons be home From deserts where horses roam?"  ...

  Directions to a Cup-Maker by Anacreon (573-495 B.C.) translated from the Greek by Joseph S. Salemi Skillful craftsman, make this thing: A cup to hold the gifts of spring. Duplicate, in silver chasing, Spring’s first rosebuds, whose fine tracing Renders drink a pure delight. I implore you, get it...

On the Ruins of the Ancient City Cumae by Jacopo Sannazaro (1458–1530), translated from Latin by Margaret Coats Here the far-famed walls of ancient Cumae rose, _Prime glory of the clear Tyrrhenian Sea. Here awestruck questioners came rushing evermore _To hear your oracle, O great Apollo. Here energetic sailors found...

  Beatrice Departs, St. Bernard Arrives: Canto XXXI of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns It was in semblance of a bright white rose______Celestial Rose, holding souls in Heaven __that I was shown the sacred soldiery, ______the souls __which by the blood He shed Christ would espouse,______Church...

  Threefold Sorrow by Anonymous, 13th century translated from Middle English by Martin Briggs Among my thoughts are always three That steal my happiness from me. One is that I must away; One, I do not know the day; The third One is my greatest woe: I know not whither...

  Seven Sonnets of Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo Translated from French and Curated by Adam Sedia Introduction Joseph-Casimir Rabearivelo (1903-1937) was born on March 4, 1903, in Antananarivo, Madagascar. At the time Madagascar had been a French colony since 1897, when it had annexed the island kingdom. His native language was Malagasy,...

  Two Sonnets by Nino Martoglio (1870-1921) translated from Sicilian by Joseph S. Salemi   I. Young lady, you who work embroidery At your small loom, behind the window’s glass— Tell me, why is it that you gaze at me When there in the morning I go by and pass?...

  Still, Still, Still A Translation and Musical Arrangement of a German Carol   "Still, Still, Still" is a German-language Austrian Christmas carol and lullaby. The melody is a folk tune from the district of Salzburg. The tune appeared in print for the first time in 1865 in a folksong...

  Canzone at Evening by Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) translated from Italian by Margaret Coats At the hour when heaven rapidly recedes To greet the West, and our day flies away To those who are perhaps expecting it, Alone and far from where she used to stay, A pilgrim, old and...

  Gilgamesh Lines Introduction In 2011 when we were evacuating Iraq, looted antiquities entered the market. One such was this shard which features 20 partial lines of the Epic of Gilgamesh, likely inscribed before the seventh century B.C. Verse translation “I” occurs early in the epic. Verse translation “II” occurs...

  Three Short Poems by Heinrich Heine translated from German by Josh Olson   1 I laugh at every doltish jackanapes Whose drooling, goat-like visage leers at me; I laugh at every fox who sneeringly Approaches, sniffs me up and down, and gapes; I laugh at all the bloated, learned...

  La Llorona by Manuel Carpio (1791-1869), translated by M.D. Skeen I turned pale when I first heard the story As a child, a mere lamb, still so innocent Of a man of my town, a delinquent Who had murdered his wife Rosa-Lee. Since that time on damp nights dim...

. Harmony of Design: Form and Worldview in Classical Chinese Poetry by Adam Sedia China’s uninterrupted literary tradition of three millennia is truly one of the world’s cultural wonders. The introduction of traditional Chinese poetry to the West by Ezra Pound and the Imagists sadly occurred with an agenda behind...

. Lyrics by Philodemus of Gadara (circa 1st century BC) translated from Greek by Joseph S. Salemi . V.13 Charito is past sixty, and yet still Her lustrous black hair falls in thick cascades; Still those ungirdled breasts stand firm and white As marble cones upon her naked chest; Still...

. Eternal Rose, with Rows and Rows: Canto XXX of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns Six thousand miles away, high overhead, __perhaps noon blazes, while our world’s shadow __inclines, almost, as on a level bed, ____it’s daybreak in Italy and heaven’s zenith now begins to show...

. When Lovely Woman Stoops to Folly… by Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) When lovely woman stoops to folly, And finds too late that men betray, What charm can soothe her melancholy, What art can wash her guilt away? The only art her guilt to cover, To hide her shame from every...

. From Faust: The Tragedy, Part I Prologue in Heaven by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) translated from German by Josh Olson . The Lord, the heavenly host, and afterward Mephistopheles The three archangels step forward. Raphael: The sun exults in ancient praises, Competing with its brother spheres, And thunders...

. Archaic Torso of Apollo by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) translated from German by Josh Olson We cannot know that enigmatic head in which his eyes once ripened. Even so, his torso bears a candelabra glow, wherein the rays his downturned glances shed hold fast and shine. Thus, you are...

. When the Child Appears by Victor Hugo (1802-1885)translated from French by Bruce Phenix When the child appears, the family’s loud praiseBursts out in claps and shouting. His sweet, bright gaze__Makes everyone’s eyes bright.And the saddest brows, their clouds too dark to clear,Seeing the innocent, joyful child appear,__Unwrinkle at the...

. In Her Fair Foundry, Nature Forges Art by Claude Gaspar Bachet de Meziriac (1581-1638) translated from French by Josh Mitteldorf In her fair foundry, Nature forges art, Divinity of beauty knows no peer. The orbs of stars and planets we hold dear Have burned their disks upon our eyes...

. Song of the Heron by Ueda Bin (after the French of Emile Verhaeren) translated from Japanese by Yoshikaze Kawakami By the bleak golden waters, Where the water lilies bloom, The heron slowly hovers, And sends its shade of gloom. The shadows on the pond Are spread like robes and...

. Wedding Night by Christine de Pisan (1364--c. 1430)translated by Margaret Coats A sweet supremacy marks marriage;I prove it from experience.I have a husband good and sage,Bestowed through God’s great providence;Praised be His saving diligence!This holy state serves to excelAll treasures of benevolence,For sure, my sweet one loves me well....

. Today Like Yesterday by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870) translated by Paul Burgess Today like yesterday, tomorrow like today: ___A sky of only grays, An endless horizon that goes on, changeless, dull, ___The same across the days; The heart's repeated mindless pounding, like machines' ___Insistent pulsing beep; A brain lethargic...

. Two Lyrics by Philodemus of Gadara translated from Greek by Joseph S. Salemi . V.124 Summertime has not yet cast off her buds Nor has the grape bunch turned to purple for you, The one near bursting with its maiden bloom. Already the young Cupids are at work Whetting...

. . Lament for Clairac by Théophile de Viau (1590-1626) translated from French by A.Z. Foreman Sun-hallowed walls where I once loved Phillis, Sweet places where my soul knew charm and wonder, Today, beneath our wrecked roofs, just a piece Of a high-handed army's bloody plunder. Altar cloth vaporized, great...

. Divine Complaint Chant royal by Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406), translated and adapted by Margaret Coats In all the world there is one creature lone Who serves me not, nor fears me, nor obeys. Fire, water, air, and earth revere my throne: Earth at my word his sustenance purveys; Air from...

. The Dark Wood: Canto I of Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns Midway along the journey of our days __I found myself astray in a dark wood, __for lost was right direction in that maze. How hard a thing to speak of how it stood:...

. Whoever Am I? Preface to His Poetry .by Prudentius (c. 4th century AD)translated by Margaret Coats If I see clear, through fifty yearsI’ve lived. The seventh after them appears to wheelAround as we enjoy these whirling circlings of the sun. My end is near, and every dayThat God may...

. Two Idylls by Bion of Smyrnatranslated by Joseph S. Salemi . Idyll V Great Cypris stood before me in a dreamy hazeHolding by her fair hand the hand of baby DesireWhose head hung heavily downward, in an earthbound gaze.She spoke thus to me: Herdsman, take him and inspireMy child...