Customer Reviews

Selected Poems: A Bilingual Edition

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While I would like to thank the previous reviewer for alerting me to the different translations of Ungaretti, I must respectfully disagree with his comparison of the Frisardi and Mandelbaum versions. Before deciding which to buy, I checked both out of library and read several poems side by side. Although they are indeed much different in approach, I did not find Frisardi "wooden" or too literal; in fact, between the two, I found just the opposite -- Mandelbaum over literal and, in comparison to Frisardi, somewhat wooden. Here's a comparison from "June":

Mandelbaum: "Poised / upon the ringing / slabs / of air you will be / like a panther."

Frisardi: "You'll be / like a / panther / balanced / on the shrill / panels of air."

I don't know Italian either, but based on the facing Italian original, it appears that Mandelbaum is attempting, at least at the syntactical level, to be more literal, whereas Frisardi is using a more flowing prosaic line -- that is, in many of F's versions, his lines, if strung together, form a clean line of prose. Whether this choice violates the original too much, I'll leave to others who know the language to decide. I would just comment that at times, F's flowing rhythm, compared to M's more elliptical style, seems to make certain poems more accessible, and by that I don't mean just "easier" to read. For example, from the same poem:

Mandelbaum: "Then calm again / I shall see / in the bituminous horizon / of your irises the dying / pupils"

Frisardi: "Then at peace again / I'll see / my pupils die / on the bitumen horizon / of our irises"

The lack of a clear pronoun reference in M. makes you pause a bit to wonder exactly whose pupil is dying; F. makes this point explicit.

In other places, it appears that it is again M. who is being over literal at the level of word choice as well; an Italian colleague of mine confirmed this.

Ok, enough of the nitpicking. I make these distinctions not so much to argue for Frisardi over Mandelbaum. I found both versions had more than enough virtues to celebrate. In fact, I liked each one so much, though for different reasons, that I ended up buying both (a few copies of M. can be found on Alibris, though they are not cheap), and have enjoyed greatly reading them side by side; it's great fun to contemplate all the choices each translator (both poets in their own right) made. And both include poems the other omits -- another reason for getting both editions.
It's interesting to note that Mandelbaum knew Ungaretti personally and worked with him on the translation, and therefore may have felt somewhat constrained in taking the more liberal approach of Frisardi.
So if it seems like I'm copping out by not choosing one over the other, it's only because I have found that reading both has enriched my appreciation of such a great poet that I would not have had by reading only one. If you really love poetry,get both -- it's worth the extra bucks!

If a reader's first exposure to Giuseppe Ungaretti is Frisardi's translation, I ask that he or she please refrain from judging Ungaretti's work until first reading his earlier translators, particularly Frederick Jones and Allen Mandelbaum. Those earlier works render more eloquent and evocative translations than Frisardi's, which, unfortunately, comes out a bit too wooden, and is perhaps over-literal. I must admit that I cannot read Italian, so I do not know which English translation is more faithful to the original Italian (no easy task -- as I understand it -- even for linguists). In addition, Frederick Jones' and Allen Mandelbaum's books are likely out-of-print and may have to be ordered through inter-library loan (but it would be well worth it to pursue them).

Why, then, do I still rate Frisardi's work 5 stars? As a long-time student and reader of Ungaretti I see the value of Frisardi's work in his commentary on Ungaretti's poetics and life, and in his translation of Ungaretti's own commentary on his poetry. Thus, his notes at the end are a valuable contribution to the scholarly literature on this great Italian poet. Hence, I fully recommend Frisardi's book. It's only other detriment -- which is admittedly a bit petty -- is the book's cover: it makes one feel as if he or she is drowning in an algae-ridden pond.