English Original
singing the blues
not sure whether they're joyful
or sad
a flood with motley memories
a crazed autumnal chorus
Gusts, 28, Fall/Winter 2018
Richard St. Clair
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
吟唱藍調歌曲
不確定他們是否快樂
或是悲傷
氾濫的繁雜記憶
瘋狂的秋季合唱
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
吟唱蓝调歌曲
不确定他们是否快乐
或是悲伤
泛滥的繁杂记忆
疯狂的秋季合唱
Bio Sketch
Richard St. Clair (b. 1946) is a New England poet and composer of some renown. In addition to writing haiku and tanka, he also writes haibun and is an enthusiastic sonneteer. As a composer he has set the works of many haiku and tanka poets (living and deceased) to music.
The historically significant and culturally and symbolically rich rhetorical question (joyful or sad when singing and listening to the blues, an "African-American music that traverses a wide range of emotions and musical styles, representing the opposing voice that refused to be silenced by oppression and segregation) in Ls 1-3 is not answered, but explored more deeply into the realm of collective memories and historical emotions (in L4) stirred by autumnal sounds (in L5)
ReplyDeleteIt might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following blues tanka:
Deleteafter your goodbye kiss
the taste
of chewed-up blues
played late in the night
on a saxophone
Scent of Jasmine and Brine, 2007
Linda Jeannette Ward