Resources

by John Oliver Simon and Michael Ray

excerpts from Poetry Inside Out: Harnessing the Transformative Power of Translation
Volume 36, Issue 4, Page 3
Genre: Poetry
Grade: 3, 4, 5, 6
Population: Bilingual

In 2000, Olivia E. Sears (founder of the Center for Art in Translation) met with bilingual teacher Michael P. Ray to discuss how CAT might be able to affirm and nurture the incredible language resources of bilingual children. At the end of a two-hour conversation, the Poetry Inside Out program was born. John Oliver Simon came on board in 2001, adding his expertise in teaching imaginative writing and Latin American literature.

John Oliver Simon and Michael Ray explore the work of an out-of-school time organization that promotes literacy in 3rd-6th grade bilingual students by using translation exercises that bring out their poetic voices and curiosity about the world.

Note: to see full text of this article, including Spanish and Chinese language poems, click here

LESSON EXCERPTS from “Harnessing the Power of Translation”

Though the article specifically discusses a long-term residency of 15-25 weeks, certain lessons can be extracted from the larger course. Here are excerpts, along with page numbers that refer back to the original article.

Translation Basics

To begin: Students will translate fragments of Nerudas’s “Pastorale” in table-teams, then compare their versions line-by-line and argue to consensus over their choices (5). Emphasis on no “right” answer in translation—rather, that translation lends itself to a multiplicity of different possiblities. Divergent thinking and conversation encouraged. Students encouraged to defend their choices (9).

Students are often encouraged to work in pairs and translate one another’s original poems. This will spark dialogue. When students struggle with the difficulty of translating one or another part of their peers’ writing, teachers can encourage students to talk to the author about what he/she meant (10).

Haiku

Take children outside, if possible, to emphasize the nature-connection and awaken children’s physical senses, which in turn encourages stronger writing (11).

Children translate their own and each other’s work, one to one and in groups, following the process they’ve learned earlier when translating Spanish poems into English and vice versa.

Translation of Chinese Poetry into English

Look at the original poem and the translation into English. The example given is Du Fu’s classic poem. The translation from the ideograph is stark: “nation broken, mountain, rivers remain” and “feel time, flowers sprinkle tears” are two of the lines. Children are asked then to make integral lines of English poetry by adding language that still retains the flavor—their perceived flavor—of the translated phrases.

Work with class on one line at a time. With time, youth may be work in groups, in pairs, or independantly.