Ursula K. Le Guin is known in Poland mainly for her novels. Along with other omnibuses, the publishing house Prószyński i S-ka, however, introduces us to the next faces of this author. Not so long ago in the collection There is no time. She thinks about what is important, we had the opportunity to meet her as an essayist, and now, in So Far , we will meet Ursula Le Guin - the poet.
How much fantasy is there in poetry?
Most of the poems published in the collection are not related to the writer’s fantastic work. So we will not find here almost any songs that would take us to the worlds known from her previous books. The exception is probably the only poem for Heggai set in the world known to readers of the Returned still home .
At the same time, in my opinion, poetry blurs the boundaries between what is realistic and what is fantastic much better than prose. Therefore, some texts stand on the borderline between realism and fantasy.
Late poems
The poems give an insight into the soul of the author. Although more difficult to read than prose, they carry a lot of information – about sensitivity, needs, and experiences. In So far, the author’s late poems are well collected – work on the book lasted practically until the end of Ursula K. Le Guin’s life. According to her daughter, the last editorial corrections were sent by the creator of Earthsea on January 15, 2018 – a week before her death.
When you sit down to read, it is worth remembering. Especially with the last part of the collection, entitled In the ninth decade . Here we find the poem Fear and Desire . The text, although extremely short – only seven lines – is nevertheless very strong in expression.
Feelings and topics
So far, it is well divided into seven parts, each of which contains from a few to a dozen or so poems. Most of them fit on one page, some on just a few lines. The author’s emotionality is more visible in many of them. What can you see while reading? Certainly deep reflection. Le Guin focuses on various topics: life and death, but also ordinary cases that stand in our way. One part is a metaphor for the journey of William Bligh, who sailed four thousand miles from Tonga to Timor in an open boat. The others are much more general, although their titles obviously correspond to the content, such as Insights and Elegies .
Can poetry be translated?
Translation always changes the song a little. This is especially true of poetry. Justyna Bargielska and Jerzy Jarniewicz are well responsible for the crack . To what extent did they handle the source material? The poems presented in Polish are good. They are also largely faithful to the original. It is true that there are places where I did not agree with the translators’ decision, but the whole thing looks really good (and even where I question something, it is difficult for me to indicate a better solution).
The way the collection was published is very pleasing – alongside the Polish versions, there are songs in their original form. Readers who want to deal with poetry in English can do so with a crack at hand to compare the more difficult passages if necessary. On the other hand, people who prefer to learn the author’s poetry in her native language can do so without losing the chance to comfortably see what a given fragment looks (and sounds!) In the original.
Even if we do not feel strong enough to read the entire collection in English, it is worth looking at the pages with poems in this language (provided, of course, we have an adequate command of English). In some of the songs, the rhymes and forms are really beautiful and not always fully translated into Polish.
Summary
Assessment So far it is not easy to do well . The perception of this book strongly depends on how much we like poetry as readers. If we are lovers of it, we will certainly find something for ourselves. If, however, we do not read poems on a daily basis, but at the same time they do not put us off, it is worth giving Le Guin – a poet a chance. Some of the presented songs will delight us, while others we will wave our hand at. However, the whole thing will allow us to try to get to know one of the most outstanding fantastic authors a little better.
