ITHACA: THE ‘UGLY DUCKLING’ CHAPTER OF ULYSSES
by Marija Girevska
“To enter or not to enter. To knock or not to knock.
Bloom’s decision?
A stratagem.”
What impressed me most in the “Ithaca” episode of Ulysses was Joyce’s refined sense of humor, his verbal echoes, allusions, his Dionysiac play of language. Sinbad the Sailor (an oriental version of Odysseus) becomes the starting point for an alliterative permutation, a list of possibilities of limited diversification. Hence, attempting to translate this impressive word play into Macedonian was quite a prodigious challenge since any language in a non-English Ulysses is always haunted by dispersal, absence, loss… It is simply a risk that is starkly embodied in all writing. To enter or not to enter?
Project Announcement (24 March 2012)
A PAINTING
A POEM
(plenty of stories)
apologize! apologize! they cried
i apologized. i apologize.
i’m careless and less and less myself for it seems
i no longer care hidden there in my
lurking place
pure and ludicrous
pure - my favourite word in a book i found and came
to listen to the trees and were they mine? or yours?
or somebody else’s?
possession, ugly word means aggression
i’m wordless
interdependent, that’s another word but it takes two
to pinpoint its meaning
i am maria i live next door in a house door-less and
window-less and picture-less
perhaps i am maria-less now and then again i cannot
tell
exactly when my furniture was taken out
and my keyholes cried loud
i had his number, mr. fixit.
i am miss screwitup, i said.
he offered me a drink. a diet coke. i choked. we
walked. talked. less and chess. a mess. my dress
smells
a nice smell we had of it let us go you and i i said
to caverns measureless to man down to a sunless sea
i see
i hear the mermaids singing
none did it disappear or kiss appeared?
A TRANSLATION
English text:
In what posture?
Listener: reclined semilaterally, left, left hand under head, right leg extended in a straight line and resting on left leg, flexed, in the attitude of Gea-Tellus, fulfilled, recumbent, big with seed. Narrator: reclined laterally, left, with right and left legs flexed, the index finger and thumb of the right hand resting on the bridge of the nose, in the attitude depicted in a snapshot photograph made by Percy Apjohn, the childman weary, the manchild in the womb.
Womb? Weary?
He rests. He has travelled.
With?
Sinbad the Sailor and Timbad the Tailor and Jinbad the Jailer and Whinbad the Whaler and Nimbad the Nailer and Finbad the Failer and Binbad the Bailer and Pinbad the Pailer and MInbad the Mailer and Hinbad the Hailer and Rinbad the Railer and Dinbad the Kailer and Vinbad the Quailer and Linbad the Yailer and Xinbad the Phthailer.
When?
Going to dark bed there was a square round Sinbad the Sailor roc’s auk’s egg in the night of the bed of all the auks of the rocs of Darkinbad the Brightdayler.
Where?
* * * * * * * * * *
Macedonian Translation:
Во која положба?
Слушателката: легната полунастрана, лево, левата рака под главата, десната нога испружена во права линија и се одмара врз левата, свиткана, во положба на Гео-телус, исполнета, истегната, голема со семе. Раскажувачот: легнат странично, лево, со десната и левата нога свиткани, показалецот и палецот од десната рака се одмараат на врвот од носот, во положба прикажана на фотографијата снимена од Перси Апџон, уморен дете-човек, човек-дете во утроба.
Утроба? Уморен?
Тој се одмара. Тој патуваше.
Со?
Синбад Морепловецот и Тинбад Терзиловецот и Минбад Мракопловецот и Кинбад Китоловецот и Шинбад Шајколовецот и Инбад Изјаловецот и Финбад Финопловецот и Бинбад Бардакловецот и Пинбад Писмоловецот и Винбад Викаловецот и Ринбад Редоловецот и Динбад Уџумпловецот и Ѕинбад Ѕвоноловецот и Линбад Леснопловецот и Ксинбад Фтисисловецот.
Кога?
Кон мрачната постела во квадратот околу јајцето на Синбадовите птици рок и ок во ноќта на починката на сите рокови и окови на Темнибад Светлопловецот.
Каде?
