It is really true… of all the writers I can think of, Du Fu really leaves an impression of his life and memories… he is a master. I think what you said is why some writers prefer rendering, or translating, their memories and experiences into fiction… since it is to admit that our memories are ghosts…. Very very hard to pin down!!
Once again the trees outside my window
Raise their thoughts of leaves to see
Inside my own reverie. Tiny enough,
Almost unseen, the shadow of my love
Climbs a branch whose memory sighs.
Gorgeous!!!!!!!!!
This line held the most meaning for me.
欲辨已忘言
As writers, we want to give form to our sensations, yet those feelings are like ghosts that fade the more we strain to see them.
It is really true… of all the writers I can think of, Du Fu really leaves an impression of his life and memories… he is a master. I think what you said is why some writers prefer rendering, or translating, their memories and experiences into fiction… since it is to admit that our memories are ghosts…. Very very hard to pin down!!
That is precisely why I wanted to avoid encapsulating dialogue within my memoir in quotation marks. How could I be certain what was said?
Luscious translation! I can only imagine more so in the original.
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!!!
Omg! I loved this post so so much, Leanne! You inspire me!
Thank you so much!