Jacques Rebotier
Trans. by Zachary
Schomburg
The Tuba
|
Le Tuba Le tuba est là. Le tuba n’est pas là. Avez-vous vu venir voir ça? Le tuba n’y est pas. On peut s’étendre sur sa brise, au fond du soir, aller de biais, au vent, au bois. Vaudrait-il pas mieux le laisser en l’état? |
The Tuba The tuba is there. The tuba is not there. Have you come to see it here? The tuba isn’t there. We can move on its air, to the depths of the night, through wind, through wood. Wouldn’t it be better to leave it alone? |
The Giraffe 2
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La Girafe 2 La girafe a d’abondance des cornes d’escargot. La girafe ne se laisse pas aisément repeindre, ce qui augmente les coûts. Où êtes-vous? |
The Giraffe 2 The giraffe has plenty of snail horns. The giraffe can’t be easily repainted, which raises costs. Where are you? |
Jacques Rebotier is a poet, actor, director and composer. He has written over a dozen books of poems. These translations are from his book of poems, Quelques Animaux de Transport et de Compagnie (Harpo &, 2004). He was born in 1950 and is French. More information can be found here: www.rebotier.net/
Zachary Schomburg is the author of The Man Suit (2007), Scary, No Scary (2009), and Fjords vol. 1 (2012), and a forthcoming book called The Book of Joshua. He is doing these things: Octopus Books, writing a graphic novel with Gregor Holtz called Mammother, translating a book of french poems by Jacques Rebotier, and serving as a juror in a long civil trial. He was born in Omaha in 1977 and is still not dead.
