This article is based on this Dutch article of Martijn Benders
Writing contemporary poems. I had a terrible dream last night, a great moment to start writing poetry. Has anyone ever smelled the sour hair of the valerian? I did, yesterday. That should become a poem tomorrow.
This morning (I always work very early, before dawn, like a monk), I was busy with Roethke. Few people realize how incredibly *trippy* Roethke’s poems actually are.
In my opinion, neither Trakl nor Roethke can be translated in a normal way; it’s a pointless endeavor. What you get is something weaker than the original and just as outdated. And in that case, you’re better off reading the original, so the translation was meaningless.
In my collected Roethke, which doesn’t come across as a very lovingly made book (“these two hundred poems show his breakthrough in the use of language. Together they document the development of an extraordinary creative source in American Poetry” — so the neoliberal back cover drones on), the front cover feels very 1970s:
And initially, you think: who fingerpainted with their genitals on Mr. Roethke’s book? Was that really necessary?
And that lilac color, too.
But then you remember, this is a work by Georgia O’Keeffe, a contemporary of Roethke. Fingerpainting was revolutionary at the time, and although O’Keeffe and Roethke didn’t know each other personally, I understand the choice of O’Keeffe. Still, I would have chosen a different piece and not turned the whole thing lilac. O’Keeffe certainly made beautiful works; just look:
And also:
Yes, if you, as a designer, opt for O’Keeffe, I fully understand the choice, but… that last one above, with the cactus shapes… not that solid lilac, but rather that graded pink…
And with modern technology, it only takes 20 minutes to create a cover:
Yes, yes, with the extend tool in the latest Photoshop — and then run twice through the upscaler in Leonardo. Still some lilac here, but not as goddamn dominant.
Roethke is much gentler and *trippier* than people think. Perhaps even the most trippy poet in the entire canon. This cover suits him better — a kind of black hole, but completely like a flower in nature.
That old cover is pure PORNOGRAS.
Best regards,
Martijn Benders, 12-11-2024
