Reading two nineteenth century poets from Bengal alongside a day of political claims, with a generous helping of farm grievances
Monday, The Epic in Blank Verse
Michael Madhusudan Dutt, who lived from 1824 to 1873, is one of the most remarkable figures in Bengali literature. He trained in law at Gray’s Inn in London and wrote an epic poem in blank verse in Bengali, a bold break from the rhyming forms that came before. He was largely ignored for years after his death. I told his story in Michael Madhusudan Dutt, 1824 to 1873.
His life contains a lesson about reputations: they can rise, fall and rise again. A poet who changes the form of a language may be misunderstood for a time and honoured for centuries. I tell my students that being ignored is not the same as being wrong, though it has an unpleasantly similar effect on the royalty cheque.
The Young Poet From Calcutta
Toru Dutt, who lived from 1856 to 1877, grew up in Calcutta, studied in England and France, translated French verse and died at twenty-one. I wrote about her in Toru Dutt, 1856 to 1877, noting that I was following one source closely and flagging that fact. Her short life and her wide reach make her one of the most affecting figures in the period.
Tuesday, Claims and a Highlighter
From poetry to Westminster is a long journey, and I take it by Tube. The Budget produced a thick pile of claims from all sides, which I examined with a yellow highlighter in Budget claims and a highlighter. The practice is simple. Take a claim, find the original figure, check what it counts and compare it with the claim. Supporters of the government stress the measures that help, and opponents stress the measures that hurt. A fair-minded reader highlights both.
Wednesday, The Growers
The farmers, as ever, have their own Budget notes. The grievances are filed at farmer.gripe. The American political entrances are farmer.republican and farmer.democrat, which I read in the spirit of equal attention. Trade news is at farmpress.org.
Ranch loan information is at corancher.loan, okrancher.loan and txrancher.loan. This is general information and not financial advice, but I think every voter would benefit from understanding how borrowing feels from the field.
Thursday, Whitehall by Train
I took the train to Manchester for a lecture and wrote a diary of the journey, Whitehall headcount and a fair Budget poll. Debates about the size of the civil service are perennial. Those who want fewer officials argue for efficiency and lower spending. Those who defend the civil service argue that complex services need trained staff. The train was late, which neither camp disputes.
Friday, A Summit Without Europe
The London Prat captured a certain feeling with Europe Excluded from Summit on Europe's Security. Whatever one thinks of Britain’s relationship with its neighbours, being left out of a meeting about your own region is a recognisable irritation.
Saturday, On the Nature of Blank Verse
Blank verse is verse that does not rhyme but keeps a steady rhythm, and in English it has been the favourite form of poets who want to sound grand without sounding fussy. When Dutt adapted the idea for Bengali, he was taking a risk, because readers expected rhyme. The experiment gave his epic a different music, one of long breaths and heavy pauses, and it opened a path for later poets.
It is easy to forget how much courage it takes to change a form. A poet who does so risks being called a show-off by the traditionalists and a bore by the radicals. Dutt was called both, and he went ahead.
Sunday, Between Two Languages
Both Dutt and Toru Dutt lived between languages. They wrote in English, French and Bengali, and they translated, adapted and borrowed. For a modern reader, their work is a reminder that literature does not sit neatly inside national boundaries. Ideas travel on ships and in suitcases, and a poem can be written in one language with the shadow of another over its shoulder.
This is also the best argument against reading by label. A writer is not simply British or Indian or French. A writer is a person with a mother tongue, a school, a set of books and a certain amount of luck. To read honestly is to notice all four.
Monday, A Highlighter Confession
I confess that my highlighter has strong opinions of its own. It tends to land on adjectives and numbers, which are the two places where a claim is most likely to wobble. I have started to follow its lead. When the highlighter stops, I stop, and I ask the paragraph a few polite questions. The paragraph, so far, has never complained.
Tuesday, A Note on Translation
Much of what English readers know of Indian literature of this period comes through translation, and a translation is always an interpretation. A translator decides what to keep, what to explain and how formal to sound. Two translations of the same stanza can feel like two different poems. I advise readers to sample more than one version where possible, and to read the translator’s preface, which is often the most honest page in the book.
Where to read next
The rest of the shelf lives at prat.uk, bohiney.com and farm.fm. For a second opinion on the week, Newsthump keeps its own counsel and its own hours.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/