The Ear

[I got this email from Ben Friedlander concerning the good ear/bad ear. Thought you may be interested in hearing/reading the poem.]


Dear Johannes:

I've been thinking a lot about your remarks (and also yours and Joyelle's) about translation. It's one of those stances put forward so provocatively that agreeing or disagreeing seems beside the point, though it's hard to respond without doing one
or the other. But regarding "ear," maybe it's possible instead to put forward an example of a "good" one that supports your overall thesis. I'm thinking here of Tony Harrison's really incredible poem "Them & [Uz]"

http://www.englit.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergrd/honours/4year/2005-2006/Poetry/cen01.12.05.html (scroll down)

which teaches us to hear (and forces us to think about) pronunciation as a locus of meaning more important, in some cases, than the word pronounced (as with the "aiai, ay, ay!" that opens the poem [that aiai, btw, should be rendered in Greek). I've
long admired the poem, but hearing Harrison read it has made all the difference in the world--turned admiration to love. Sound file just discovered here:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-literature-publications-poetryquartets-harrison.htm (scroll down)

Anyway, I hope you are well--

Ben