Translation of the Week – Floarea Țuțuianu – The Mirror
This week’s Translation of the Week is The Mirror by Romanian poet Floarea Țuțuianu from her collection Syllables of Flesh wonderfully translated by Adam J. Sorkin and Irma Giannetti.
The Mirror
This mirror no longer recognizes me
it laughs a laugh not mine
Whenever my thirsty neck feels
the imperious necessity of a rope’s presence
another sunny day happens by
to put an end to the prospect
each time deferred until some future day
with the smell of a wet dog
On days it drizzles softly
because I’m sadder
I sell myself more dearly
Slender and thinking like a reed
I wrote, for better or worse,
a poem beyond the age limit
This mirror laughs a laugh
not mine
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Published by rikost68
Roman Kostovski has a B.A. in Russian Language and International Relations from the College of William and Mary, and an M.A. in Russian Language and Linguistics from the University of Maryland. He also holds a Lecturer of Czech Certification from Charles University in Prague. He has taught Czech at George Washington University and worked as a Central and Southeastern European Media Analyst at Georgetown University. He translates poetry and prose from Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Slovak into English. His translations have appeared in numerous journals, including Absinthe-New European Writings and Watchword Press. His translation of Arnost Lustig’s Porgess was published by Northwestern University Press in 2006, and his translation of Viktor Dyk’s Czech classic The Ratcatcher was published by Plamen Press in 2014. He founded Plamen Press in 2013, a print-on-demand publishing house for the promotion of literature from Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe throughout the English-speaking world. He works and resides in Washington, D.C.
