Poems

by Abdellatif Laâbi

If we could write
simply by placing
fingerprints
on a page
it would relieve
the pain we endure
trying to be original
at any price

The literal translation of this poem was made by Andre Naffis-Sahely

The final translated version of the poem is by The Poetry Translation Workshop

Notes

Translating this tiny poem involved much thought and discussion. We struggled for some time with the title: in the original French, it's 'Prints' not 'Fingerprints' (though that word crops up in the third line). But 'prints' in English has far wider connotations than in French. So we stuck with 'Fingerprints'.

Most of our efforts centred on trying to make our final version sound as 'light' and colloquial as the original - as close to ordinary speech in English. Do let us know how you think we got on!

Comments

No comments have been made on this poem yet! Why don’t you start us off?

• Name (required)
• Mail (required,
  but will not be published)
• Your comment
• Right to left text?
• 
  Please enter the text above or click here for a new text