Poets from Israel and the UK have been brought together to take part in a project aimed at breaking down cultural barriers.
The Poet to Poet Translation project brought together poets from Scotland, England, and the divided city of Jerusalem to explore the issues of nationality, history and identity in their work.
Working on the principle that a faithful rendering of a poet's work does not necessarily convey its true intent or significance the project examined the idea that a successful translation can be a unique collaboration between two imaginations.
Writing in their own preferred languages of Hebrew, Arabic, English and Gaelic each poet translated the work of others drawing upon their own cultural experiences to discuss and develop the process of translation.
Taking part in the project were:
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Ayman Agbaria |
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Polly Clark |
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Anthony Dunn |
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Yael Globerman |
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Rody Gorman |
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WN Herbert |
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Nidaa Khoury |
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Amir Or |
To help gain a better understanding of cultural differences and perspective the UK poets visited Israel to experience Jerusalem in their own way. The group spent an evening at the house of Palestinian writer Mahmoud Shukair who is separated from other family members by the walled security checkpoints that divide the city. Mahmoud told them about what inspired him as a writer and the difficulties of everyday life in Jerusalem.
The visit was later reciprocated when Ayman Agbaria, Yael Globerman Nidaa Khoury and Amir Or travelled to Scotland and spent some time in and around Argyll before coming together in the beautiful setting of Cove Park to collaborate and translate each others work.
A selection of the English translations and original poems are available on our web site, alongside more information on the background to Poet to Poet Translation project.
The Poet to Poet Translation project was a collaboration between Cove Park, British Council Scotland and Edinburgh: UNESCO City of Literature.
To find out more about our work in literature visit our web site or e-mail art.scotland@britishcouncil.org.
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