The poem, í búri (in the cage) is said to be translated in 1948 by N. S. Kiernan. I have not found any record of this translator or whether the poem was anthologized with other Faroese poems, but it appears that the poem may have been translated to accompany a collection of music. I have located a cd with the same title and authors at the Icelandic library, so when I visit this May, I'll check in on it. For now, read í búri in translation, or listen to Harkaliðið's folk rendition:
Showing posts with label audio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label audio. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2015
In the Cage: Poetry in Music & Translation
The University of the Faroe Islands have a translation of Janus
Djurhuus's í búri along with a centennial commemoration (1914-2014) of
Djurhuus's collection of poems, Yrkingar. This is the first
individual collection of Faroese poems ever published!
The poem, í búri (in the cage) is said to be translated in 1948 by N. S. Kiernan. I have not found any record of this translator or whether the poem was anthologized with other Faroese poems, but it appears that the poem may have been translated to accompany a collection of music. I have located a cd with the same title and authors at the Icelandic library, so when I visit this May, I'll check in on it. For now, read í búri in translation, or listen to Harkaliðið's folk rendition:
The poem, í búri (in the cage) is said to be translated in 1948 by N. S. Kiernan. I have not found any record of this translator or whether the poem was anthologized with other Faroese poems, but it appears that the poem may have been translated to accompany a collection of music. I have located a cd with the same title and authors at the Icelandic library, so when I visit this May, I'll check in on it. For now, read í búri in translation, or listen to Harkaliðið's folk rendition:
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Manor: Vampires and the Faroe Islands
The great Faroe Islands Podcast has turned me onto a German short story set in the Faroe Islands. The German author, Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, who, despite never visiting the islands, manages the distinct Faroese landscape fairly well. "Manor" begins by describing the precarious position of the distant Faroe Islands with its unforgiving landscape, before a grim scene unfolds and dead bodies wash ashore.
Written over 130 years ago, the short story brings vampires and themes of homosexuality to the jagged shores of Vagar - quite ahead for a story of its time, calling some in the Faroese LGBT community to consider Ulrichs as a pioneer for gay rights.
There's much more to the story - and behind the story, including how the story resurfaced. The story of the story can be found at the Faroe Islands Podcast. Manor has been recently translated into Faroese by Birgir Kruse and Eiler Fagraklett and is available for sale at H N Jacobsens. Read the English translation of the short story for free, too.
Written over 130 years ago, the short story brings vampires and themes of homosexuality to the jagged shores of Vagar - quite ahead for a story of its time, calling some in the Faroese LGBT community to consider Ulrichs as a pioneer for gay rights.
There's much more to the story - and behind the story, including how the story resurfaced. The story of the story can be found at the Faroe Islands Podcast. Manor has been recently translated into Faroese by Birgir Kruse and Eiler Fagraklett and is available for sale at H N Jacobsens. Read the English translation of the short story for free, too.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Nothing gets in the way of learning a language and travel quite like a full-time post-secondary education. I figure for every week that I don't brush up on the words and phrases I have learned, I unlearn one day of hard work. By now, I have forgotten a lot. Can I still recite Eg oyggjar veit? My heart is dedicated and my body seems to be pulling me towards those far-off islands, and yet my mind is elsewhere, even if it does often drift. And all you need is your girlfriend to send you the most random text while she's at work and while I'm typing this very page. That restarts everything. I admit it has been a few months, and I can be honest, I haven't read a shred of Faroese since then.
When planing for a few summer escapes over these past few weeks, the Faroe Islands have been a distant thought, being too, expensive, far and difficult for us to get to for now. Our trips away would be by tandem bike to local areas, or kayaking to the Toronto islands...maybe a bus to a nearby city. But never Faroe. Not this year. I have to be honest, the text from Jane was not random. I sent her a text earlier saying we should support The Faroe Islands Podcast on Kickstarter. This podcast has often been a source of relief and contentment from my work as a bike messenger, when I tried to sit and wait patiently for the days of traveling to Faroe. I think it helped me relax when all I would hear was the hustle of the city traffic. But my simple request sparks in her what I imagine to be a lifelong ambition: when she says, "I want Faroe", I think, "so do I". Let's see if we can use some simple accounting and spin to make it happen this summer. I have to be careful though, thoughts of Faroe often begin to override most things in my life. But I promise, if I can go to Faroe, then I will do really well in school.
Okay, back to school.
When planing for a few summer escapes over these past few weeks, the Faroe Islands have been a distant thought, being too, expensive, far and difficult for us to get to for now. Our trips away would be by tandem bike to local areas, or kayaking to the Toronto islands...maybe a bus to a nearby city. But never Faroe. Not this year. I have to be honest, the text from Jane was not random. I sent her a text earlier saying we should support The Faroe Islands Podcast on Kickstarter. This podcast has often been a source of relief and contentment from my work as a bike messenger, when I tried to sit and wait patiently for the days of traveling to Faroe. I think it helped me relax when all I would hear was the hustle of the city traffic. But my simple request sparks in her what I imagine to be a lifelong ambition: when she says, "I want Faroe", I think, "so do I". Let's see if we can use some simple accounting and spin to make it happen this summer. I have to be careful though, thoughts of Faroe often begin to override most things in my life. But I promise, if I can go to Faroe, then I will do really well in school.
Okay, back to school.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Reading and Listening to Faroese Literature
I know some islands that have mountains and green hillsides,
and in wintertime are covered in snow,
and beautiful streams run there and cascade a lot;
they all want to hurry into the blue sea.
The above is the translation of the first verse of 'Eg Oyggjar Veit' provided by Hjalmer Peterson and Jonathan Adams in the textbook 'Faroese: A Language Course for Beginners'. The book can be purchased from H. N. Jacobsens Bókhandil. From this store you can also purchase books on cd. Click the link 'ljòðbøkur' on the lefthand sidebar of the homepage. Most of the available cd's do not come with the accompanying literature, so check to see if a hard copy is available too. Sverre Patursson's 'Ábal og aðrar søgur' (the first book on the page) is a book of short stories, and what better way to learn the language. Ábal is the name of a boy in the story, and 'og aðrar søgur' means 'and other stories'. This book is quite good as the stories are short and simple and at this stage, following along and listening to the sound of the language is the most important step. Other short story books and recordings are available too, even translations of popular literature into Faroese.
For now, listen to the youtube reading of 'Einbýli' by Heðin Brú. The accompanying text can be found on the youtube site showing this video .
and in wintertime are covered in snow,
and beautiful streams run there and cascade a lot;
they all want to hurry into the blue sea.
The above is the translation of the first verse of 'Eg Oyggjar Veit' provided by Hjalmer Peterson and Jonathan Adams in the textbook 'Faroese: A Language Course for Beginners'. The book can be purchased from H. N. Jacobsens Bókhandil. From this store you can also purchase books on cd. Click the link 'ljòðbøkur' on the lefthand sidebar of the homepage. Most of the available cd's do not come with the accompanying literature, so check to see if a hard copy is available too. Sverre Patursson's 'Ábal og aðrar søgur' (the first book on the page) is a book of short stories, and what better way to learn the language. Ábal is the name of a boy in the story, and 'og aðrar søgur' means 'and other stories'. This book is quite good as the stories are short and simple and at this stage, following along and listening to the sound of the language is the most important step. Other short story books and recordings are available too, even translations of popular literature into Faroese.
For now, listen to the youtube reading of 'Einbýli' by Heðin Brú. The accompanying text can be found on the youtube site showing this video .
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Eg oyggjar veit - I know some islands
Eg oyggjar veit, sum hava fjøll
og grøna lìð,
og taktar eru tær við mjøll
um vetratìð,
og àir renna vakrar har
og fossa nògv,
tær vilja allar skunda sær
ì blàan sjogv
Gud signi mìtt føðiland Føroyar
This is the first verse of the song Eg Oyggjar Veit, written by Frìðrikur Petersen. The audio track of this verse can be heard, along with all other tracks from the textbook "Faroese: A Language Course for Beginners" on the Stiðin website (Stiðin is a Faroese publisher).
The verse sums up the Faroe Islands almost too well, although there is much more to the Faroe's than the steep mountains and cascading rivers described in it. Yet, it's likely to be this image that holds our imagination best. There are six verses to this song but I have yet to find a complete translation of it. Maybe the rest of the song adequately describes the other beautiful aspects of the Faroes, like life, the birds, the fog and clouds, the wind and sea... okay, it was written some time in the 19th century and we know much has changed since then, and though the nature remains, I don't imagine the song reflects on the network of tunnels that wind through the mountains and under the sea, and the modern network of paved roads that has begun to replace the village paths. Well, I can think of these as I experienced them last summer, or as I've known about them for some time before that, thinking in wonderment about these islands and their mountains and the roads that keep the Faroese people connected. Only later did I learn about the ferry and helicopter connections between the remote villages, and later about the language that has connected the Faroese people for so long. And I only need to recall 'I know some islands' to be connected to the wealth of thoughts, images and feelings that I now have of this place.
og grøna lìð,
og taktar eru tær við mjøll
um vetratìð,
og àir renna vakrar har
og fossa nògv,
tær vilja allar skunda sær
ì blàan sjogv
Gud signi mìtt føðiland Føroyar
This is the first verse of the song Eg Oyggjar Veit, written by Frìðrikur Petersen. The audio track of this verse can be heard, along with all other tracks from the textbook "Faroese: A Language Course for Beginners" on the Stiðin website (Stiðin is a Faroese publisher).
The verse sums up the Faroe Islands almost too well, although there is much more to the Faroe's than the steep mountains and cascading rivers described in it. Yet, it's likely to be this image that holds our imagination best. There are six verses to this song but I have yet to find a complete translation of it. Maybe the rest of the song adequately describes the other beautiful aspects of the Faroes, like life, the birds, the fog and clouds, the wind and sea... okay, it was written some time in the 19th century and we know much has changed since then, and though the nature remains, I don't imagine the song reflects on the network of tunnels that wind through the mountains and under the sea, and the modern network of paved roads that has begun to replace the village paths. Well, I can think of these as I experienced them last summer, or as I've known about them for some time before that, thinking in wonderment about these islands and their mountains and the roads that keep the Faroese people connected. Only later did I learn about the ferry and helicopter connections between the remote villages, and later about the language that has connected the Faroese people for so long. And I only need to recall 'I know some islands' to be connected to the wealth of thoughts, images and feelings that I now have of this place.
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