I first encountered Zuzanna Ginczanka's poetry in Alissa Valles's class last semester, when we read her translation of "Non omnis moriar." I remember how impressed I was by the poem, and how powerfully Ginczanka managed to harness the beauty of these images in order to condemn her neighbor's denouncement. Now that I have read a few more of her poems, I see that this blend of gravity and beauty is a trademark of hers. I was especially struck by the line in "Physiology:" "yet I am impaled on the stake of my own spine," juxtaposed with "I am happy: this is life! (exclamation point)." Ginczanka's poetry is so mature, and she is able to acknowledge both the beauty of life and the inevitability of her own mortality in a way that is wise beyond her years (and what a tragedy it is that war and genocide make people come to this realization so young).
I was particularly excited about Huss's comment on Ginczanka's "archaisms disguised as neologisms." Huss pays close attention to the linguistic sources that Ginczanka draws from, and her meticulousness and research is a concrete way for her to acknowledge and honor not only Ginczanka's role in modernist poetry as well as put her into conversation with the traditional Polish poets of whom she so hoped to join the ranks.
Regarding the question of multiple translations, I really don't understand why it would be an issue for two publications to publish the same poem in different translations at once. We can only benefit from having many translations, and I wish journals and magazines weren't so focused on literature as a commodity for them to have ownership owner. Though I realize I'm an idealist... Finally, regarding Cavanagh's essay, I thought it was a wonderful rallying cry to continue to translate poetry! Yes, it may be impossible, but this is exactly why we must keep trying to capture its beauty and expressivity. And this is especially where I believe multiple translations can come into play, each bringing a different aspect of the original to light.
-Maggie
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