Tuesday, December 07, 2021
Paul Batchelor The Manchester Review
"These illustrations punctuate her energetic and (can one in this context say it?) ‘free’ translation of around half of Catullus’ poems. Some [Isobel Williams] translates several times. There are seven or so versions of the two-line poem about Catullus’ love-hate relationship with his mistress, ‘Odi et amo’. One of these sounds a bit like Ezra Pound in troubadour mode:
"I hate where I do love. Perchance /
Thou seek’st to know de quelle façon /
[Doffs hat, strums lute-strings]./
I don’t know. It’s hurting. Here."
Another sounds like a resentful adolescent:
"Stuck in a hate-love trap. /
‘How does it make you feel?’ /
Don’t give me that counselling crap. /
The wheel has spikes. Bones snap.""
Colin Burrow LRB