Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3]
Poll: When reading for pleasure outside my native language (s), I prefer to read:
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Claudia Aguero
Claudia Aguero  Identity Verified
Costa Rica
Local time: 02:16
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not so prone towarods poetry Jul 20, 2007

Steven Capsuto wrote:

Tomás Cano Binder wrote:

Four times more readers of erotic stories than readers of poetry? Something's wrong here.


Maybe it's a cultural difference, but I feel a far stronger connection to prose than to poetry. Most "good" poetry does nothing for me, emotionally or intellectually. A good memoir or novel can reduce me to tears, but I seldom get emotionally worked up over verse. I say that even though I've translated poetry for publication and have done it well, I'm told.

Obviously there are exceptions, poems I relate to instantly, but they're ones that have the clarity of meaning one usually associates with good prose.


In may case, I think certain aversion toward poetry since my university times, when a teacher said to me "I cannot believe you cannot understand this poem. You are the last person in this class who can argue not understanding this poem." Of course, I did bad in the exam I had to analyze it. In addition, how is it possible that my interpretations were always completely different from what the author tried to tell or my teachers' point of view.... still a mystery for me.

I'd rather read prose...by reading Isabel Allende I can let my imagination run riot. Biographies such as Hilary Clinton are also really interesting.

What I cannot stand is reading Coelho's books or such literature. It's almost impossible for me to read more than one or two pages.


 
Csaba Ban
Csaba Ban  Identity Verified
Hungary
Local time: 09:16
Member (2002)
English to Hungarian
+ ...
some topics I like to read about Jul 20, 2007

Current affairs - newspapers, background analyses in several different languages
History, geography, art history, cultural history, social sciences, travelogues, guide books, language learning, dictionaries, etc. Most of the time I read several books on these subjects concurrently.

And when I really have a lot of time, I like reading fiction in original...

Csaba


 
Ivette Camargo López
Ivette Camargo López  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 09:16
English to Spanish
+ ...
@ Claudia Aguero: about poetry Jul 20, 2007

Claudia Aguero wrote:

In my case, I think certain aversion toward poetry since my university times, when a teacher said to me "I cannot believe you cannot understand this poem. You are the last person in this class who can argue not understanding this poem." Of course, I did bad in the exam I had to analyze it. In addition, how is it possible that my interpretations were always completely different from what the author tried to tell or my teachers' point of view.... still a mystery for me.


Hi Claudia,

Isn't it terrible when a narrow-minded "teacher" destroys the beauty of knowledge and learning by such limiting attitudes?

I'm sure that if you had had a more "pedagogical"-minded teacher maybe you would love poetry today, or at least "appreciate" it a bit.

Your anecdote reminded me of that movie (and I am not suggesting at all that it is your case, I am just using this movie as an analogy), "Dangerous minds". Of course, the teacher there is gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer, so I guess it's easy to believe anything she says, but still, it's so obvious that our childhood/high-school/university teachers are so crucial for us to develop certain cultural tastes.

In my case, I had (during the last three years of high-school) a professor who was not only a literature/poetry specialist, but also an actor (he actually participated in plays, in school and in local theaters), so he "transmitted" to us his love and passion for literature and poetry, which I still remember to this day.

And btw, I do read poetry in English (my main "outside" language) whenever I can, but, as some other colleagues mentioned here, I just like to read a little bit of everything. Right now I'm about to start Lynne Truss' "Talk to the Hand (the Utter Bloody Rudeness of Everyday Life)", which sounds like hillarious fun.

Buen finde,

Ivette


 
Hilary Davies Shelby
Hilary Davies Shelby
United States
Local time: 03:16
German to English
+ ...
Typos in books Jul 20, 2007

Textklick wrote:

I just wish that all books would all be available as audio books, so that I could get rid of the dreadful habit of spending the first ten/twenty/thirty minutes looking for typos.

I imagine that I am not unique in that respect.

Chris



I've actually taken a pencil (not a pen, i hate writing in books!) to a few books - authors/editors who leave out the second parenthetical comma are my pet peeve....

I'll read anything and everything, but not usually anything super-heavy - my brain gets enough exercise from translating all day!

I like biographies, social history, classic children's fiction, travelogues, ghost stories and well-written "junk". Authors who spring to mind are Tracey Chevalier, Bill Bryson, Liza Picard, JK Rowling, Jilly Cooper, James Paterson and Tim Moore.


 
Claudia Alvis
Claudia Alvis  Identity Verified
Peru
Local time: 03:16
Member
Spanish
+ ...
No words Jul 20, 2007

Aurora Humarán wrote:

Check this out, Claudia!

Destino
Risco no chão um traço, à beira água:
Não tarda que a maré o deixe raso.
Tal e qual o poema. É comum sorte
Que areias e poemas tanto valham
Ao vaivém da maré, vem-vem da morte.

José Saramago


Destino
Hago en el suelo un trazo, junto al agua:
No tarda la marea en alisarlo.
Así es el poema. Es común suerte
Que arenas y poemas tanto valgan
Al vaivén de la marea, al ven ven de la muerte.

José Saramago y Campos Pámpano





That's absolutely brilliant, thank you for sharing Aurora. I'll try to buy it tomorrow since I have to pick up my copy of Harry Potter anyway. I try to avoid bookstores as much as I can because I always end up going out of budget.


 
Alexandre Chetrite
Alexandre Chetrite
France
Local time: 09:16
English to French
Preferably I chose a new genre Jul 23, 2007

For example, if you don't like romance, just buy a book about romance. If you dislike or have never been interested about cooking, just buy that.

 
Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3]


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: When reading for pleasure outside my native language (s), I prefer to read:






Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »