Expounder of the soul

On his 190th birthday (May 31st) I posted what could be taken as Walt Whitman's legacy to Poets to come.
And here's - as announced - one by a 'poet who came' :)

Il Poeta*

Si dilata il sé
in un'intricata visione
di sogni sospesi:
il reale si scioglie
in mille rivoli
di un policromo prisma,
illuminato da un sole,
eternamente presente
tra i chiaroscuri della vita.

The Poet

He expounds the soul
in a tangled vision
of abandoned dreams:
reality melts
into the thousand streams
of an many-coloured prism,
lit by the sun
which is always there
amidst the light and shade of life.

* from Il Profumo del Pensiero / The Essence of Thoughts
Poems by Antonio Lonardo with English translations by Pat Eggleton.

If you've got two bottles of wine ...

If you are in possession of two pairs of trousers
sell one and buy this book.
Lichtenberg

Now would I not go so far as the old ingenious hunchback, but ...

... I know what's better than drinking two bottles of wine:

One bottle of wine and ... a good book. Good poetry, for example.

Now, please don't ask what the criteria for a good book are , what those for good poetry.
And: Need I tell that you don't have to empty both - the bottle and the book - during one night? :)
But: Opening one bottle - in this very case I'd commend one of those fine Sicilian drops - and to enjoy the spirit of both the pressed grapes and the expressed thoughts - that comes next to ... :)

Alright then: During the coming days I shall - with the permission of the author and his congenial translator - post some poems.
Do I like them all? That's not the question.
Sometimes I consider a book or a (long) poem worth its price 'cause of but one tiny sentence.

In this very book, though, there are to be found many good thoughts. So many good thoughts, indeed, that I do wish that Pegasus may offer the duo (poet and translator) many more of such poetic rides.

'Ha!' I do hear some of those spirits who'd love to (almost) always deny: 'How could someone who does not speak English fluently commend a book which roots are Italian?'

Although my Italian is slightly rudimental, having translated a few poems from Italian into English and German, I think I am at least able to recognise the quality of a translation.

Which is why - to cut it short! - I am varying what the ingenious hunchback (look above) demanded :)

If you are in possession of two bottles of wine
sell one and buy this book

Il Profumo del Pensiero / The Essence of Thoughts
Poems by Antonio Lonardo with English translations by Pat Eggleton.
Parallel text. 8 euros plus p&p.
ISBN: 978-88-96255-25-4.

And perhaps easier may be to contact Welshcakes via email:
lasiciliana629 at hotmail dot com

So, just do it. :)

- - - - -


Here a few links to some poems posted by Welshcakes in Italian and English. Enjoy.

Distanze / Distances

Ricera / Search

Esistenziale Itinerario / Existential Itinerary

Analogiche Differenze / Analogical Differences