Saturday, April 29, 2006

A Bit of Albanian Poetry

Springtime in an Arbëresh Village

The buds emerge from the cracks in the rocks
And from the hummocks on the path to the cliff.
The tender tiny faces with thin stems
Listen to the conversations of the strong-fisted women
Returning from the fields
And none of them mentions the spring.

My days there passed as in a dream
With eyes fixed on the early spring flowers drowned
In the month of April's wild rising grass.

I woke up on the day of my departure with a wreath
Of meaningless words in my hand.

[Pranvera në katundin arbresh, from the volume
Njeriu më vete e me tjerë, Munich 1978, p. 28, translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Martin CAMAJ
Camaj (1925-1992) was born in Temali in the Dukagjin region of the northern Albanian alps. He is an émigré writer of significance both for Albanian literature and for Albanian scholarship. He received a classical education at the Jesuit Saverian college in Shkodër and studied at the University of Belgrade. From there he went on to do postgraduate research in Italy, where he taught Albanian and finished his studies in linguistics at the University of Rome in 1960. From 1970 to 1990 he served as professor of Albanian studies at the University of Munich and lived in the mountain village of Lenggries in Upper Bavaria until his death on 12 March 1992.
All of the above is found on the link I have on my sidebar to Albanian Literature.

9 comments:

verniciousknids said...

"I woke up on the day of my departure with a wreath of meaningless words in my hand" is so moving...it completely captures how I feel when I have to say goodbye to people. Wow!

verniciousknids said...

BTW I like your new pic...you look like a movie star...wait a minute, you are one :D

Miss Kim said...

Isn't it a touching poem! And thanks for the kind words :)

Writer and Nomad said...

i am so utterly glad to have found your blog. not only are you a fellow travveller, but you have linked to other ex-pat blogs. i will be reading often and adding you to my blog links. happy spring.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful poem .........

Jade L Blackwater said...

This is lovely, thank you so much for sharing it! Poetry is one of my passions. :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful poem! - Arberesh guy in Texas

Anonymous said...

Dear Traveller,

I am an Albanian who lives in Michigan since in 1997. Surfing on the net made me coming across to this site.

I would like to thank you for your interesting and your nice and friendship feelings toward my country. I am glad that I found you.

You can see more albanian poems at my site www.geocities.com/spiritofalbania/enterpoetry.com and also
at www.beyond-the-pale.co.uk/albanian.com

Thank you and Best Wishes

Zana

Anonymous said...

Dear Traveller,

I am an Albanian who lives in Michigan since in 1997. Surfing on the net made me coming across to this site.

I would like to thank you for your interesting and your nice and friendship feelings toward my country. I am glad that I found you.

You can see more albanian poems at my site www.geocities.com/spiritofalbania/enterpoetry.htm and also
at www.beyond-the-pale.co.uk/albanian.htm

Thank you and Best Wishes

Zana