English Original
they made
Van Gogh want to dream
these stars ...
he’s there now amongst them
his smile thick with paint
Commended, 2009 Kokako International Tanka Competition
André Surridge
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
他們讓
梵谷想要夢想
這些星星 ...
他現在就在它們之中
他
的笑容濃重得像是塗了厚厚的顏料
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
他们让
梵谷想要梦想
这些星星 ...
他现在就在它们之中
他的笑容浓重得像是涂了厚厚的颜料
Bio Sketch
André Surridge was an award-winning playwright and poet who immigrated to New Zealand from Yorkshire, England in 1972. He was President of the Playwrights Association of New Zealand from 1998-2000. Widely published, some of his awards included: 1995 Minolta Playwriting Award, 2007 Elizabeth Searle Lamb Award, 2008 Tanka Splendor Award, and 2010 Jane Reichhold International prize. And his first collection of haiku and senryu, one hundred petals, was critically acclaimed in 2019.
Ls 1–3 establish a relationship between Vincent van Gogh and the stars, recalling the swirling night skies of "The Starry Night" without explicitly naming the painting.
ReplyDeleteL 4, “he’s there now amongst them,” transforms the stars from an artistic subject into an imagined afterlife, and L5, “his smile thick with paint,” provides a magnificent closing image. By linking Van Gogh’s signature impasto technique with a sense of eternal joy, it suggests that even among the stars he remains inseparable from his art.