Jun 302010
 

Just a reminder: Entries close at midnight tonight. See the entry page and post your translation.

dg

  One Response to “LAST DAY for entries in the Numéro Cinq translation contest”

  1. Perhaps the Perpetrator in Chief of Numéro Cinq already has an idea for the next contest. However, I’d like to make a suggestion (or two): How about the Limerick, or the Double Dactyl? For those unfamiliar with the latter, an example:

    Higgledy-piggledy
    Hans Christian Andersen
    Sat with some towheaded
    Lads on a shelf,
    Mythopoetically
    Hoping that fairytales
    Aided in keeping his
    Hans to himself.

    As in the Limerick, the rhythm is insidious. According to the rules set forth in Jiggery-Pokery, by Anthony Hecht and John Hollander, the poem must begin with a double-dactyl nonsense line such as “higgledy-piggledy” or “jiggery-pokery,” followed by a double-dactylic famous name, then another double dactyl, and a line of four beats. Then it begins all over again, ending, like all jokes, with a punch line.

    Either of these poetic forms would be entirely consonant with the profound intellectual tone of Numéro Cinq.

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