For all of Amazon’s faults, and there are many, the review
portions often lead to entertaining insights. Some people feel very comfortable
making broad declarations and judgments in that forum, which strikes me as
strange because elsewhere (readings, workshops, conferences, etc.) that dynamic
seems to get tempered. So, while I disagree with much of what’s written, the
Amazon reviews at least provide something a little different.
Here’s one regarding the Merwin translation of Osip
Mandelstam, written by Donald A. Newlove:
“I like Merwin's Mandelstam more than that of five other
translators with whom I've compared Mandelstam translations. It often takes
three readings of a Mandelstam poem to get why it was written---not what it is
about, please---but WHY it was written. That is what you look for. After that
the sense of the poem will appear.”
Mr. Newlove claims to have found the right formula for reading poems. You have to admire the cringe-worthy brashness of “that is what you look for,” as if there were only one definite way
to read poetry. But that’s not my main source of entertainment. What I really
love is the last sentence in this quote, which treats poetry like a magic
trick; the meaning of the poem is like the woman who disappeared behind the
curtain only to return—or maybe it’s the clichéd rabbit that gets pulled out of
the hat. But, remember, you MUST read the poem three times for the trick to
work!
