| Reviews |
| "Forty-three
poems translated into verse, each with the source text opposite.
In a short introduction, "the ingredients of any poem"
are listed and said to present distinct challenges to the translator,
even though they may on occasion "overlap". This reluctance
to consider each component as a function of the others is no
doubt why — for example — a translator cannot even
approximately recreate "aural connotations and associations
that a French poem has for a French reader". It may also
be why the translator's avowed ideal is to compose "the
kind of poem Baudelaire himself might have written, if English
had been his native tongue". Fortunately, the introduction
is not the raison d'être of this book. The translations
themselves are mostly in regular (but far from wooden) iambic
verse; they nod in the direction of the nineteenth century,
but are full of vivid trouvailles and taut but supple rhythms;
sometimes an element of exegesis is introduced - as in the rendering
of 'Le reniement de Saint Pierre', which is also a good example
of Leakey's happy readiness not to sacrifice translational efficacy
to a prosodic straitjacket. Creativity and scholarship pleasingly
feed off each other in this book; let us thank Professor Leakey
for sharing the meal with us." |
|
-Forum
of Modern Language Studies
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| "What a
remarkable achievement! Rarely can a poet have been better served
by his translator… At last, a translation that one can
unhesitatingly recommend to English readers who cannot read
the poems in the original language, as well as to students who
can." |
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by Dr Alistair Whyte
Senior Lecturer in French
Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London
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| "Your translations
are marvellous poems in their own right, and yet always remain
faithful… I'm very grateful to you for translating one
of our best French poets so beautifully, and I don't think I've
ever read such a good translation of poems." |
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Lise Jamati
Grand-daughter of the poets Georges and Cécile Périn
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| "Felix Leakey's
ambition… to write 'the kind of poem that Baudelaire himself
might have written if English had been his native tongue'…
had led him to some wonderfully satisfying renderings…
There are lines in this translation that leap out at the reader…There
are wonderful examples of rhythmic virtuosity... Baudelaire's
genius at finding the pithy formula is also finely represented…
Many readers will certainly gain pleasure from Felix Leakey's
inspired selection and translation." |
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French Studies
|
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| "Felicitous
renderings abound in this… volume, some of them miracles
of poise, invention and intelligent attention to the originals…
Professor Leakey's translations provide not just an aesthetic
experience, but a deeper insight into Baudelaire's world, an
interpretation, and a lesson in how to read his poetry." |
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New Comparison
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| "…renderings
that are a tribute to Leakey's virtuosity as well as Baudelaire's…
this selection of translated poems sustains the essence of Baudelairean
drama and melody… such is the sense of the mingling of
two creativities in two languages, as well as of poetry and
scholarships." |
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The Modern Language Review
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