Translation

. Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681) Translated by Elwin Wirkala The king dreams he is king, and lives with this deception ordering, disposing of and governing, and all the applauses he receives are but a loan writ on the wind and burnt to ashes...

. Canzone to the Virgin by Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) Translated by Margaret Coats Virgin beautiful, vested with the sun And crowned with stars, who pleased the Sun supreme So much that within you He hid his light, Love spurs me to speak words in your esteem, But only with your...

. "Tomorrow, at Dawn" Sung in English . "Tomorrow, at Dawn" Sung in French . Tomorrow, at Dawn by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) Translation by James A. Tweedie Tomorrow, when the countryside is kissed by dawn, I’ll leave. For you are waiting there for me I know. Through forests, over mountains...

. The Canterbury Tales---General Prologue, Lines 1-18 by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) Translated by Evan Mantyk When April’s sweetest showers downward shoot, The drought of March is pierced right to the root Through every vein with liquid of such power And virtue that it generates the flower; When Zephyrus too exhales...

. Tomorrow’s Poets by Enrique González Martínez (1871-1952) translated by Cheryl Corey Tomorrow’s poets will sing beyond all praise In verse that’s out of tune with present day; New stars will bring new destinies that raise A shiver of delight in restless souls. Tomorrow’s poets will tread a path unworn,...

. The Flowers' Easter Debate Palm Sunday is the Flowers’ Easter, the day when they honored Jesus Christ entering Jerusalem. As they did not need Good Friday’s bloody atonement for sin, the flowers were ready to crown Him. . The Rose Our good Master Comes as Pastor; Our good Master...

. "I Heard Chapman Speak Out Loud and Bold" by Margaret Coats My title quotes “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer,” a sonnet by John Keats. When Keats first read Homer, the voice he heard was not Homer’s, but that of English translator George Chapman. Verse translations are original poems;...

. From the Tower by Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645) | translated from Spanish by Elwin Wirkala Retired to these deserts and at peace, and with but few, though learnèd, books beside, I live conversing now with the deceased, and listen with my eyes to those who died. Open, whether or not...

.   https://youtu.be/3XWcnISYGSE . Rondel for Saint Valentine's Day by Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1340–1400) | modernized in the original lyric form by Margaret Coats Now welcome, springtime, with your gentle sunThat wintry weather milder soon will make,And tiresome nights' long shroud of blackness shake. Saint Valentine, great triumph you have won,And...

. Judges Margaret Coats Evan Mantyk . First Place ($100) Talbot Hook, Connecticut "Mourning the Dead" by Li Qingzhao; "Bamboo-Grove Pavilion" by Wang Wei . Second Place Joseph Greene, California "Solitude" by Wilhelm Müller; "Serenade" by Ludwig Rellstab Sean Thompson, United Kingdom "Autumn" by Friedrich Hebbel . Third Place Adam Sedia,...

. Solitude by Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827) | from German by Joseph Greene As when a cloud is darkened And drifts through sunlit sky, While through the many treetops An icy breeze does fly: As such I make my journey I trek with weary feet, All round me life is cheerful,...

. The Two Corteges by Joséphin Soulary (1815-1891) | translated from French by Hadyn Adams Within a church two groups of people met: An infant’s funeral cortege, the first: A woman followed, her heart fit to burst Within her breast repressing her regret. The second for a baptism all set;...

. Mourning the Dead by Li Qingzhao, Southern Song (1084-1155) | from Chinese by Talbot Hook Above in the heavens the star-river flows; Down on the earth the curtains hang low. As the air grows chill, and my pillow tear-damp, I arise, untying my robes just to know The hours...

. To Tchaikovsky by A.N. Apukhtin (1840-1893) | Translated from Russian by Olga Dumer With my musician friend’s departure A minor key pervades my lines. Yet, like a fugue’s evolving texture, Old friendship amplifies with time. We played together, with bravura, Our youthful daring prelude. Since adolescence, fame’s allure Thrilled...

. To Sleep, to Sleep by Friedrich Hebbel | translated from German by Sean Thompson To sleep, to sleep and only sleep And never wake and have no dreams! The bitter woes that made me weep but half-remembered fading gleams. So I, when echoes of life's fullness Reverberate down where...

. Sonnet by José de Espronceda (1808-1842) | translated from Spanish by Adam Sedia Fresh, lush, pure, and perfumed luxuriantly, The blooming garden’s flair and ornament, Coxcomb perched on the stem's filament, The budding rose-bloom sets its fragrance free. But if the burning sun stirs angrily, Shines flaming in the dog-days’...

. To Saint John the Evangelist by Eustache Deschamps (c. 1346–1406) | translated from French by Margaret Coats Young, perfect, just, in all you had to do, Fresh virile flower of virginity, O man of marvels, to describe Him who Is Son of God in very Deity! You fed at...

. The Harp  by Gustavo Bécquer | from Spanish by Cheryl Corey Obscured by corner shadows, gathering dust, perhaps forgotten over time—there stands the silent harp. So many hidden notes entombed on muted strings, which like a bird asleep upon a steadfast bough, await the snow-white hand who makes their...

. A Flower for Giannina Milli by Alceste De Lollis (1820-1887) | translated from Italian by Adam Sedia A fragile herb, this blooming flower, I planted with my hand one day; Once more I fed refreshing power Into its bristling barbs’ array; _By me it sprung, by me it grew,...

. Passer Mortuus Est, from Carmen 3 by Catullus (84-54 B.C.)| Translated from Latin by R.W. Rhodes My baby's favored fledgling dropped and died,and caused us both to weep; and when we cried,each Venus and those naked putti pouted.The passing sparrow that had lately spoutedthrobbing songs that came and made...

. translated from Russian by Sasha A. Palmer . Prayer God above, King divine! Heal this spirit of mine! Earthly lies drive away Lest they lead me astray— And for Thy heav'nly toll Please give strength to my soul! . . Hopelessness A zeal for happiness by gods was given to...

. Ballade for His Lady Deceased by Charles d’Orléans (1394–1465) Alas, Death, who made you so bold? My noble princess you possess; My life and comfort you enfold, My pleasure, wealth, and cheerfulness. Since you my mistress now oppress, Take me, her servant since we met, For I would soon die willingly...

. In Love's Counting House by Charles d’Orléans (1394–1465) One day I asked my heart to heed A claim for pay that I commended, And we in secret soon agreed That he would tell, for pains expended In risky service, what descended To me as earnings from Love’s sweets. Most...

A version of this interview originally appeared in The Epoch Times by Evan Mantyk A widely published translator of ancient Latin texts, a former high-ranking government bureaucrat, and an incredible poet who just released his book Wonder and Wrath last September, A.M. Juster is a man at the confluence of...

“Select, all ye who write, a subject fit, A subject not too mighty for your wit! Before you lay your shoulders to the wheel, Weigh well their strength, and all their weakness feel!” —Horace (65-8 B.C.) First Prize: $100. Publication in the Society's website and The Society of Classical Poets...

. The Peach Garden Oath This oath of fellowship is an iconic moment in the first chapter of the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, by Luo Guanzhong (14th century), in which the main heroes of the novel pledge to restore goodness and order to a nation whose government...

. Hagi at My Study Window hagi or bush clover, a symbol of poetry, blooms as summer turns to autumn. Paper shapes the future’s surface, Paperweights the present state. Inkstones hold a scholar’s treasure: Ink, the past in pine-soot sticks. Water droppers moisten motion Brushes pensively perform, Taken from a...

. When softly my sustaining comfort stirs Herself to offer solace coveted, Advancing toward the left side of my bed With that sweet courtly reasoning of hers, In fearful homage all my being murmurs, “O happy soul, from what sphere do you come?” __A little frond of palm, and some...

. Rain Song by Klaus Groth (1819-1899) Pour, O rain, pour down to earth, Give my childhood dreams rebirth, When in reverie I roamed Shores where sand with moisture foamed. When the summer sun’s hot rays Idly vied with crisper days, And the pale leaves dripped with dew, And seeds...

. Am I, am I beautiful? Surely my face qualifies: Forehead pearly bright to rise Over sweetest lips cerise. Tell me if I’m beautiful! Cupid’s brows I have, green eyes, Rounded chin, nose small in size, Blonde curls blowing in the breeze; Am I, am I beautiful? Firmness my high...

. Francesco, is it you? Be confident. Sorgue vineyard pathways never were too dusty __For you—plump face and figure lusty. Come nearer; focus my astonishment. The monks and nuns sleep early after Compline. __Fawn twilight gilds the summer evening; __Its nectared air fans out old grieving, And here I am,...

. At Matins’ hour, the middle of the night,I woke, and soon found I was not alone;A man who seemed past sixty to my sightThis sentence said, and sang it in good tone:O threefold God on the eternal throne,To be content and love Thee I have cause:My trifling youth is...

. Ballade of Prayer to Our Lady (in the voice of the poet’s mother) by François Villon (1431-1463), from French by Joseph S. Salemi Lady of Heaven, who holds earthly sway And reigns as Empress of the hellish deep, Receive me, one poor Christian, as I pray That I may...

. Easter! by Rosario Previti (1882-1967), from Italian by Joseph S. Salemi Why your bitter torment on the cross, Martyr of Golgotha, if the world on which You poured your blood in agony remains Savage and fierce, and man still steeped in sin? The hand that healed the leprous and...

. Sonnet 181 Jesus had suffered more than we can tell, But when released, His soul at once aspired To save the just, whom their long wait had tired. See Him descend to Limbo’s dreary hell In search of those who early served Him well And, ages since, His coming...

. . The Tale of the Rose (Excerpt) by Christine de Pisan (1364-1431), translated by Margaret Coats . This Tale comes from the Paris home of the Duke of Orleans, brother of the King of France, where on Saint Valentine’s Day 1402, there assembled certain noble folk, rich in honor...

. Half a Blanket adapted from “Das Vierte Gebot,” or “The Fourth Commandment,” a folktale from medieval Germany There was an old king once in France Who grew in time too weak to reign. So, he renounced his jeweled crown To give his son his wide demesne. “I pledge I...

. Judges Margaret Coats Evan Mantyk . First Place ($100) Francesca Leader, Virginia "The Iroha Poem" by Kūkai (空海) (774–835) . Second Place Steven Monte, New York “Di pensier in pensier, di monte in monte” by Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) Alexandra Guo, Singapore "Hymn to Beauty" by Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) ....

. Be good, my Sorrow. You may rest assured; The Evening whom you called descends; Behold; The fall of dusk leaves some in towns obscured With newfound peace, yet some with cares untold. Through gauntlet mortals move in sordid herd, While flailed by Pleasure, headsman uncontrolled, And reap Remorse by...

. Portrait of God drawn from Scripture by François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), translated by Adam Sedia Know you the jealous God, who dare engage In sin, whose impious deeds ignite his rage? His flaming chariot courses far through space; Death and the Demon flee before his face; Trembling, the Threefold...