#lina kostenko

[vintage-ukraine]

Cassette cover of the dramatized audiobook of a historical novel Marusia Churai by Lina Kostenko, based on the life of a legendary Ukrainian Baroque songwriter, 1989

[jerry-the-leech]

Нічого такого не сталось

Poem by Ліна Костенко (Lina Kostenko)

(source: https://ukrainianpoetry.com)

The original:

Нічого такого не сталось. Бо хто ти для мене? Сторонній. Життя соталось, соталось гіркими нитками іронії. Життя соталось, соталось. Лишився клубочок болю. Нічого такого не сталось. Ти просто схожий на Долю

Their translation:

Nothing in particular happened. What are you to me? Someone else’s. Life unraveled where it was unhemmed to irony’s bitter farewell threads. Life unraveled where it was unhemmed. A yarn ball of pain’s all that is left. Nothing in particular happened. You just look a little like Kismet

My translation:

Nothing much really happened Because who are you to me? A stranger Life fell apart; it unraveled With irony's bitter threads Life fell apart; it unraveled What remains is a clew of pain Nothing much really happened You just remind me of Fate

DISCLAIMER:

Okay so I am an amateur who just decided to do this because I was bored, and this is my project for translating poems now in order to get closer to my language.

This is not intended to be used as a professional translation but you could use it ig just keep that in mind.

explanation and rambles below the cut

I tried to keep the rhythm that exists in the original poem in my translation, but it sort of got lost in the first four lines. I do like how I translated "Life fell apart; it unraveled" because it sounds the most similar to the original line.

For the last line, where the other translator used "Kismet", in all honesty I didn't know what that meant until I looked it up, but I could have used "moira" as well, or "destiny" I chose fate because it seems the most final, and also it works better with the rhythm imo. also it is similar to the word "fatal", which ties into the theme of the poem.

So i am not going to explain how I interpreted what the poem is talking about because I think it would be better for each individual and please tell me what your opinions are on the two translations. If you speak ukrainian as well please tell me what I could have done differently, and if you don't speak ukrainian please tell me how the translations give off different impressions and what they are.

Also, I find it interesting how there are no real equivalents in English for the connotations of some ukrainian words. For example, "Сторонній.". It theoretically means "stranger" or "outsider" but the connotations I tried to convey were sort of someone who is distant and sort of "othered". I think stranger was the best way to convey that.

Another really important difference of connotations is the very first line, as well as the title of the poem:

Нічого такого не сталось.

Nothing in particular happened.

Nothing much really happened

For this one, I think that the Ukrainian poetry foundation did a better job of translating it because in my translation I used "much really" to keep the rhythm.

this is another one where the connotations can't really translate to english. The og line is trying to convey that nothing of a great magnitude happened. Something happened, but it wasn't significant. Something happened, but it didn't pose any significance to the author. Maybe in the future I will try to translate this again and maybe I will be better at getting the first line.

Anyways im gonna stop rambling now thank you for reading

Jerry

[rrondo]

“Ще вчора була я висока, як вежа. Здається, ще трохи – дістану зеніт. 

І раптом, як вибух, – обвал і пожежа. Розтрощений камінь – уже не граніт.

Руйновище віри, і розпач, і розпач! Під попелом смутку похований шлях. Зажурені друзі сахнулися врозтіч. Посіяне слово не сходить в полях.

На те й погорільці, – будуємо хатку. Над хаткою – небо. А знов голубе. Найвище уміння – почати спочатку життя, розуміння, дорогу, себе.”

  Ліна КОСТЕНКО 

tattoo by korniets.tattoo

[shamanicnoise]

Ptakha - Kryla

Крила

А й правда, крилатим ґрунту не треба. Землі немає, то буде небо.

Немає поля, то буде воля. Немає пари, то будуть хмари.

В цьому, напевно, правда пташина… А як же людина? А що ж людина?

Живе на землі. Сама не літає. А крила має. А крила має!

Вони, ті крила, не з пуху-пір"я, А з правди, чесноти і довір"я.

У кого - з вірності у коханні. У кого - з вічного поривання.

У кого - з щирості до роботи. У кого - з щедрості на турботи.

У кого - з пісні, або з надії, Або з поезії, або з мрії.

Людина нібито не літає… А крила має. А крила має!

Ліна Костенко

[khelinski]

Ukrainian literature is the literature of the dead and the banned, the executed and the persecuted, the exiled and the forgotten; those that are remembered centuries later; those that are published 50 years later.

Lina Kostenko

[anastasiamaru]

Asnd his own grief once again made the soul sighted in pain.

©️Lina Kostenko

[la--tour-de-marbre]

You told me I love you with your eyes The soul passed its hard exam, Like the soft sound of belling mountain stream That which is not said unsaid will remain.

Life passed, that train platform passed The station's speaker bellowed silences So many words written by the pen That which is not said unsaid will remain.

Nights turn to dawn days become dusk Fate more than once trembled the scales Words entered me like the sun. That which is not said unsaid will remain.

*

Let it be light. The touch of a feather. Let it be forever. Radiant memory. This pale world is birch bark, Whitened in these dark days from elsewhere.

Today it began to snow Today autumn was brimming with smoke. Let it be bitter. The memories of you. Let it be light, memory wonderful.

Don't let the phone rouse your sorrow, Your sadness move with the leaves. Let it be light. This is only a dream Barely brushing memory with its lips.

By Lina Kostenko

Translated by Stephen Komarnyckyj

[klimt7]

LE ALI

E’ vero, agli alati il suolo non serve.

Non c’è terra,

ci sarà la volta celeste.

Non c’è un campo, ci sarà la libertà.

Non c’è una coppia

ci saranno le nubi.

In questo è la verità dell’uccello..

E per l’uomo? Com’è per l’uomo?

Vive sulla terra. Non sa volare.

Ma ha le ali. Ma ha le ali!

E sono ali non di penne e piume,

Ma di verità, di onore, di fede.

Chi le ha come fedeltà in amore.

Chi come eterna aspirazione.

Chi come onestà nel lavoro.

Chi come generosità e premura.

Chi come canti o speranza.

O come poesia, o come sogni.

L’uomo non sa volare…

Ma ha le ali. Ma ha le ali!

Lina Kostenko

Lina Kostenko    Lina Kostenko, poetessa, scrittrice e traduttrice ucraina, è nata a Ržiščiv nella regione di Kiev il 19 marzo 1930. E’ stat

.