Harvard, California scholars join new Tale of Kiều translation
VOV.VN - A group of distinguished US scholars and poets has joined a new translation project of The Tale of Kiều, led by Vietnamese poet Nguyen Do, aiming to produce the most faithful English version of the classic to date.
The project brings together Prof. John Stauffer, professor of English at Harvard University, and Prof. Paul Hoover (Department of Creative Writing, California State University), who are collaborating with poet Nguyen Do, Vietnamese-American poet at Hoa Sen University, on the translation. After one year of work, the team has completed 60–70% of the project, which is expected to take at least two years to finish.
During a recent seminar held at Hoa Sen University in Ho Chi Minh City, Prof. Stauffer said he decided to take part in the project after reading Nguyen Do’s translation draft, where he sensed the beauty and latent power of Kiều that many previous translations had yet to capture.
He noted that numerous existing translations lack depth, contextual understanding, and often read too academically, making the poem challenging for international readers.
The project aims to present The Tale of Kiều in English with clarity, musicality, and rich imagery, addressing common issues such as the loss of cultural nuances and poetic rhythm when translators abandon the original lục bát (six-eight) verse. One major challenge for the team is rendering the poem’s extensive system of idioms, including many created by author Nguyen Du himself, into natural and evocative English.
Poet Nguyen Do emphasised that a successful translation requires mastery of classical Vietnamese, native-level English proficiency, and a deep sensitivity to Nguyen Du’s poetic spirit. Preserving the poem’s aesthetic qualities, musical rhythm, and layered meanings, he said, is essential for capturing the vitality of the original work.
This is the fifth poetry translation project between Nguyen Do and Professor Paul Hoover, whose previous collaborations include Black Dog, Black Night, Rời xa Triều Đình, and Trở về Côn Sơn. Nguyen Do received the New York Foundation for the Arts poetry award in 2005, while Black Dog, Black Night was named “The Best Anthology of Year” by Coldfront Magazine in 2008.
Professor John Stauffer is the author of 19 books and one of the world’s leading scholars in resistance literature, the abolitionist movement, and 19th-century American literature.
France hosts Tale of Kieu exhibition
VOV.VN - An exhibition featuring the Tale of Kieu and its translation into several different languages has opened to the public in Paris, France.
