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 Jeanette Winterson |
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I am beginning this on a British Airways flight from Cologne to London Heathrow on a cold bright Sunday morning with snow on the ground. I have been in a monastery outside Cologne, with other writers, on a British Council weekend for German academics. The fabulous Ali Smith invited me, and I know I am always saying that she is one of my favourite living writers, but she is so very good. It was she who introduced me to the Irish poet Ciaran Carson's translation of Dante's Inferno - a book I have recommended on the site before, but having heard him read it this weekend, I am recommending it again. It is the best translation in English that exists. Why is it so good? It is alive. Returning to us the poems of the past needs a language as sinewy and strong as the original. Academic translations or literal translations lose the power of the text, reducing it to study value only, and taking away the excitement of the words. Ciaran Carson worked his translation line by line, not knowing where he was going, just as Dante could not have known where he was going when he was actually composing The Inferno. Carson`s translation rhymes, and it scans, which is essential for reading outloud. As you know, I believe that poetry should always be read outloud. Words belong in the mouth. Other writers present included the poet Jackie Kay, the Irish playwright Sebastian Barry, writer Fred d'Aguir, novelist Toby Litt, and German writer Elke Schmitter. For me to be in such wonderful company was both pleasure and stimulation. I left with a bagful of signed books and a head full of ideas. Thank God the British Council still gets funding. Arts funding is always under threat. It is fine to spend billions of dollars and euros and pounds on illegal war, but arts funding will always be under scrutiny. Our masters do not believe that art matters. They have a vague idea that a modern democracy ought to support the arts in some small way, but that is not the same as believing in the importance of art. So all of us who do believe in the importance of art must support the arts wherever we can, and never be ashamed of the time or the money we spend on them. The price of a book or a theatre ticket is always a good investment; you invest in the work, you invest in yourself, and you invest in the wider commitment to culture. Not a bad return for a few euros or dollars! Source: Jeannette Winterson's website at www.jeanettewinterson.com
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