{"id":13399,"date":"2013-04-13T18:45:53","date_gmt":"2013-04-13T18:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/?p=13399"},"modified":"2013-04-13T18:45:53","modified_gmt":"2013-04-13T18:45:53","slug":"the-sea-scene-on-my-mothers-day-by-hovhanness-i-pilikian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/?p=13399","title":{"rendered":"The Sea Scene on My Mother\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s Day by Hovhanness I. Pilikian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mr. Jirair Tutunjian is an authoritative literary critic in the Armenian Diaspora. \u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0A most sought after Editor of English publications, he is also the Editor of the English Section of Dr. Dikran Aprahamian\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s Keghart.com<\/i>, the Canadian Armenian cultural website.\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"pilikian_poem\"<\/a>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/i><\/b>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The Sea Scene on My Mother\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s Day<\/i><\/b>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0by Hovhanness I. Pilikian, an English poem and its translation into 19 languages, Hayastan Publishers, Yerevan, Armenia, 2012<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Jirair Tutunjian<\/p>\n

\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0Books with multilingual translations of poetry are not new to Armenians. However, Hovhanness I. Pilikian\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0The Sea Scene on My Mother\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s Day<\/i>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0must be one for the record books; No less than translations into 19 languages of Pilikian\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s single poem \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c originally written in English \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c are compiled in the book.<\/p>\n

Concept originator and project manager was Artsvi Bakhchinian, an old hand at translating into Armenian. The translations into as diverse languages as\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0Latvian<\/i>, Peruvian\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0Quechua<\/i>, and Nigerian\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0Yoruba<\/i>, in addition to a number of Middle Eastern and Oriental languages, were done by an international group composed of a music promoter, an economist, a university lecturer, a potter, gallery owner, editor, painter\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u00bb Keeping\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0up with the international concept of the book, the cover illustration is by Elizabeth Romhild, n\u0569\u0083\u0539.e Davidian, who lives in\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0Bangkok.\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the translators include their appreciation of the poem or talk about their methodology. Some have provided their photos. Others have let the translation speak for itself. Bakhchinian explains that the inconsistency reflects Pilikian\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s belief that poetry-books should contain some mysteries\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u00bb \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u00bb I have not harmonized or coordinated everything formally strictly with each other,\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d says Bakhchinian in his introduction.\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/p>\n

Picking on Pilikian\/Bakhchinian theme, we believe poetry is a mystery. It is meant to be sung and to be heard. Poetry can die when dissected. Thus, we would let the poem speak for itself. Having said that, we would be remiss not to mention the richness of polymath Pilikian\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s poetic language, the mythical allusions and alliterations, the neologisms, the play on words (Ho-kiss<\/i>,\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0Luce-tania<\/i>,\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0See-worthy<\/i>) \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c The poem, dedicated to his dying mother, is a festival of metaphors\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009dthe sea coast and the sea are the beginning and end of life,\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0the father of all water was a mother too<\/i>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u00bbThe nurse burst the shores of his temper\/ Flooding me with furious oceanic anger<\/i>;\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0the last bubble of her universal breath<\/i>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0as her soul departed Golgotha and\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0titanic Okeanus sank my mother\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s ship.<\/i>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/p>\n

The poem is also full of surrealist images. One such evocative line,\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0A funeral cortege on its way to the seaside<\/i>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0is right out of a Federico Fellini movie. To add to the mystery and the dreamy last minutes of his mother, Pilikian has written the elegy without punctuation. It works.<\/p>\n

The poem is a tribute and a farewell to the poet\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s mother Tefarik. It\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s a resignation to and a rebellion against Death. Expressing his indignation to the Grim Reaper\/Charon, Pilikian calls Death\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0God\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s very own Rapist<\/i>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0as he ends the gut-wrenching eulogy.\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/p>\n

The mother and child relationship in Pilikian’s poem is innovative and sociologically revolutionary \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c hitherto, in the cultural tradition of Anglosphere, the mother-and-child relations, under the exclusive influence of Freud and his<\/p>\n

-isms are diseased, and sexual. \u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0In Pilikian’s world-view, they are profoundly spiritual, wholesome, not sensuous, and deeply philosophical; the Mother challenges her child to read her mind, not express an Oedipus Complex.\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interlaced with the farewell is the indomitable silence of Death. When the poet was young, Tefarik often asked him:\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0Son, tell me, now! At this very moment, what\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s in my heart? How would you know it?<\/i><\/p>\n

At his mother\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s deathbed, the poet asks his mother the same question. The answer is that of Death\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s:\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0I\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7ve nothing to say<\/i>.\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pilikian’s poem is immediately powerful and unexpectedly original, from its very first line; hence it is worth reading\/hearing it in the music of some of the several languages of the translations (what we can reproduce in Roman alphabet);<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I do not know if all men and women die the same way<\/i><\/p>\n

(The English original)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Je ne sais gu\u0569\u0083\u0539\u2014re si tous les hommes et les femmes meurent de la m\u0569\u0083\u0539\u055dme mani\u0569\u0083\u0539\u2014re<\/i>\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0 (French, by Loussineh Shoukourian<\/b>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ich weiss nicht, ob alle Maenner und Frauen auf gleiche Art sterben <\/i><\/p>\n

(German, by Lorntie Jung<\/b>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Io non so se gli uomini e le donne muoiono allo stesso modo <\/i><\/p>\n

(Italian, by Serena Ferrando<\/b>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

N\u0569\u0083\u0539\u0589o sei se todos os homens e mulheres morrem do mesmo modo<\/i><\/p>\n

(Portuguese, by Nadia Kerecuk<\/b>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kikin niraqtakamachus llapan qharipas, llapan warmipas wa\u0569\u0083\u0539\u055eun, chaytaqa manam yachanichu<\/i> \u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0(Peruvian Quechwa<\/i><\/b>, by Nonato Rufino Chuquimamani Valer<\/b> and Carmen Gladis Alosilla Morales<\/b>)<\/p>\n

Yo no s\u0569\u0083\u0539. si todos los hombres y mujeres mueren de la misma manera<\/i><\/p>\n

(Spanish, by Jessica Luong<\/b>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mio mo boya gbogbo okunrin ati obinrin ma nku bakana<\/i><\/p>\n

(Nigerian-African Yoruba<\/i><\/b>, by Bridget Alabi<\/b>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maanan yachanichu, kasqallantachus llapan qharikunapas warmikunapas wa\u0569\u0083\u0539\u055eunku<\/i> \u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0\u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0(Quechwa, by Hilda Ca\u0569\u0083\u0539\u055eari Loaiza<\/b>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mr. Jirair Tutunjian is an authoritative literary critic in the Armenian Diaspora. \u0569\u0082\u0539\u00a0A most sought after Editor of English publications, he is also the Editor of the English Section of Dr. Dikran Aprahamian\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s Keghart.com, the […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13399"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}