The Scots-Español Poetry Translation Exchange

Dorothy Lawrenson: Although I’m by nature a night owl and thus more familiar with the sunset, this poem considers the difference between sunrise and sunset, taking off from the old rhyme, ‘red sky at night, shepherds’ delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds’ warning’. I was reading a lot of Robert Creeley when I wrote… Continue reading The Differ / La Diferencia / The Difference

Carlos Llaza: ‘Gajes del oficio’ is a poem about writing poems. It focuses on the aridity of the experience, as well as the solitude it demands. While the speaker seems resigned to the occupational hazards, the poem acknowledges the existence of others and their importance in the search for a renewed yet relatable voice. Dorothy… Continue reading Gajes Del Oficio / Occupational Hazards

Dorothy Lawrenson: In Scotland, it’s impossible to be more than 40 miles from the sea. I’ve been lucky to live near the coast most of my life, and I often go down to the beach if I’m in a pensive mood. Wormit Bay is located on the south shore of the estuary where the river Tay – the longest in Scotland – merges… Continue reading Hansel / Regalo de Año Nuevo / New-Year Gift

Carlos Llaza: Bees are admirable. Not only are they able to make food for humans, but they work tirelessly to do so. This poem draws a parallel between poets and bees, and how they respond to their distinctive callings. Dorothy Lawrenson: This is one of my favourite of Carlos’s lyrics. Writers have to take themselves… Continue reading El Rey de las Abejas / The King o the Bees / The King of the Bees

Dorothy Lawrenson: I started writing in Scots when I was living in Texas – partly motivated by homesickness and a renewed appreciation for my own country’s literature and culture. But in this poem, I wanted to write in Scots while addressing a specifically American scene. The word I’ve used for lightning, foudrie, was coined by… Continue reading Ranch Road 12, San Marcos

Carlos Llaza: Arequipa, my hometown, is surrounded by three volcanoes. These omnipresent Apus mark the character of the place and its inhabitants. In fact, the town was originally built using large bricks of white rock known as ‘sillar’, extracted from quarries at the foot of the volcanoes. The idea of home as where we come… Continue reading Piedra Blanca / White Stane / White Stone

Dorothy Lawrenson: In reality, I think the multitude of choices a translator must make is less of an either/or situation than the metaphor presented in this poem. But I’m sure I’m often tempted to add some ‘vogie lichts’ to the source text if I find any to hand in the target language (Scots). Perhaps I… Continue reading On Owersettin / Sobre la Traducción / On Translation

Carlos Llaza: Poetry is much more than the corpus of existing poems or the genuine art of writing in verse. In Platonic terms, it can also be understood as mousiké, the secret life of each and all the arts. This hectic poem attempts to explore how poetry, in this wider sense, can be found in everyday objects,… Continue reading La Poesía / Poetry

Dorothy Lawrenson: The image of two people embracing as tightly as a spliced rope opened the door to a lot of nautical imagery, which leads up to an allusion (in the penultimate line) to the ballad of Sir Patrick Spens. In the ballad, seeing the new moon holding the old moon in her arms is… Continue reading Aubade / Alborada

Carlos Llaza: My wife and I have always dreamed of having a house by the sea. This short lyric is an attempt to use noble materials to construct a metaphor for family and commitment, facing the endlessness of the horizon. The voice that speaks and the person who writes overlap. This is dedicated to my Carly, who renews my universe… Continue reading Albañilería / Biggin / Bricklaying