Ce mémoire se veut une réflexion sur la place de l'interprétation dans un travail de traduction d’œuvres poétiques. La réflexion s'articule premièrement autour de l'exemple d'Ezra Pound, traducteur de poèmes chinois classiques. Elle se poursuit par une exploration des possibilités interprétatives contenues dans le langage lui-même, pour se conclure par une expérience subjective de traduction. J'ai choisi de traduire trois poèmes de Xi Chuan, poète chinois appartenant au mouvement de la poésie obscure. La poésie obscure est un courant littéraire contemporain, qui se poursuit encore aujourd'hui sous l'appellation de poésie post-obscure. Les travaux de Xi Chuan sont un exemple de la recherche d'une nouvelle forme d'expression pour les poètes chinois contemporains, soit l'émergence de la voix subjective, phénomène directement relié à une prise de position face au passé traditionnel et au désir d’émancipation et d’autonomie de l’expression littéraire. Cette place qu’occupe le poète obscur entre le nouveau et l'ancien permet à l'individu d’interpréter d’une manière plus personnelle le présent. De la même manière, le traducteur doit rompre avec le passé (soit le texte de départ) pour permettre l’interprétation et la projection du nouveau texte dans l’avenir (soit dans la langue d’arrivée). / This dissertation strives to be a reflection on the importance of interpretation in a translation of poetic language. This reflection takes is point of departure from the example of Ezra Pound, translator of classic Chinese poems. It continues with an exploration of the interpretative possibilities included in language itself, concluding with a subjective experience of translation. I chose to translate three poems by Xi Chuan, a Chinese poet belonging to the obscure poetry movement. Obscure poetry is a contemporary literary movement which still continues today under the name of post-obscure poetry. Xi Chuan’s writings are an example of the search for a new expressive form for contemporary Chinese poets or, in other words, for the emergence of a subjective voice that is directly related to taking a stand with regard to the traditional past while striving for the emancipation and autonomy of literary expression. The place occupied by the obscure poet between the new and the old allows the individual to interpret the present in a manner that is more personal. In the same way, the translator has to break away from the past (in other words, the original text) to allow for interpretation and the projection of the new text into the future (that is, the receiving language).

Les mythologies – gréco-romaine, irlandaise, perse, indienne, japonaise, chinoise –sont omniprésentes dans la poésie de Bunting, Eliot, Pound et Yeats. Les prédilections desauteurs pour certaines mythologies, véritables choix identitaires et politiques, montrenttoutefois une péroccupation commune pour les mythes violents, aux niveaux martial et sexuel.Ce premier niveau thématique se combine avec une réflexion plus distanciée sur le mythe,outil critique qui permet la reformulation de croyances rituelles et spirituelles, et de nouvellesthéories poétiques qui visent à ordonner et donner un sens au monde chaotique du XXe siècle.Le mythe, subversif, permet donc l’articulation de nouvelles spiritualités et denouvelles expériences poétiques. Enfin, matériau vivant et modelable, dont la mention est à lafois un raccourci de récits anciens et un horizon élargi vers d’autres références et réécritures,le mythe est objet linguistique. En traduction, le mythe transfert les contenus thématiques,déplace les rythmes et fait circuler et s’entremêler les arts. En effet, retour fantasmé à uneorigine du langage artistique, le mythe est parfois fiction d’un art total où les figuresmythiques seraient à la fois objet linguistique, représentation imaginaire picturale etmanifestation musicale. De cette vision du mythe émane une poésie polyphonique et hybride,à l’image du centaure et des autres créatures monstrueuses présents dans l’oeuvre poétique deBunting, Eliot, Pound et Yeats. / Greek and Roman, Irish, Persian, Indian, Japanese and Chinese mythologies areeverywhere in the poetry of Bunting, Eliot, Pound and Yeats. Their favouring somemythologies over others are often justified by their definitions of identity and politics. Yettheir common point is a recurent rewriting of sexually or martially violent myths. Secondly,more than a theme, myth also provides a distanced reflection which enables the poets toformulate new ritual and spiritual beliefs, together with a new poetics meant to order andmake sense of what is seen as a chaotic 20th century.Finally, myth is a living and protean material, whose presence is both a shorthand forolder narratives and a broader horizon pointing to other rewritings. In its linguistic dimension,myth in translation emphasizes questions of rhythm and enables the incorporation of other artsinto poetry. Indeed, the use of myth suggests a fantasized return to the origins of language andthe arts. Myth enables poets to try and create total art works where mythical figures are bothlinguistic and musical objects, as well as pictural representations of the imagination. From thepossibilities afforded by myth stems a polyphonic and hybrid poetry, akin to the image of thecentaur and other monstrous creatures present in the poetic works of Bunting, Eliot, Poundand Yeats.

Esta dissertação propõe um estudo comparativo das obras críticas e poéticas de Fernando Pessoa e Ezra Pound, partindo da hipótese central de que a leitura conjunta dos seus textos proporciona um ângulo privilegiado de análise, tanto de seus procedimentos específicos quanto de alguns dos aspectos axiais da poesia moderna e das tensões que os constituem. Focaliza, para tanto, as estratégias formais que os poetas utilizam na busca por uma espécie de despersonalização poética (seja na escrita de poesia, seja em sua leitura e em sua crítica): os fenômenos da heteronímia e da persona. Como eixo organizador dessa leitura, encontra-se a relação dos dois autores com a tradição literária entendida como arquivo de escritos que caberia ao poeta contemporâneo (moderno e antimoderno) conservar e renovar, o que os faz assumir uma postura contrária à das manifestações mais severas das vanguardas, sobretudo do Futurismo italiano, com as quais polemizam. A tradição, supostamente morta pelos decretos vanguardistas, deve então reviver e retornar nas obras de Pessoa e de Pound que encontram na crítica, na experiência da voz (da multiplicidade de vozes que funda e conforma a poesia) e na tradução os meios próprios para esse retorno. Os ideais de uma despersonalização poética, cristalizados nos expedientes da persona e da heteronímia (mas postas em movimento também em suas traduções e páginas críticas), são lidos aqui, portanto, como passos em busca da conservação e da renovação das vozes que vêm da tradição. Situados num período de extremismos estéticos (nos quais eles também incorrem constantemente), Pessoa e Pound são lidos nessa dissertação como marcos em que a modernidade poética se realiza e ao mesmo tempo se trai, balizas em que o novo e o antigo têm suas definições borradas e em que a modernidade se define por meio de suas próprias indefinições e contradições. / This dissertation proposes a comparative study of critical and poetic works by Fernando Pessoa and Ezra Pound, based on the central hypothesis that the joined reading of their texts enables a privileged angle of analysis with respect to their specific procedures as well as to the axial aspect of modern poetry and its constituting tensions. As such, the present study focuses on the formal strategies utilized by the poets in their quest for poetic depersonalization (whether in their writing of poetry, or in their reading and critique): the phenomena of heteronymia and of persona. The organizing axis of this reading is framed within the relation of both authors to literary tradition understood as an archive of writings that is bestowed upon the contemporary (modern and anti-modern) poet for conservation and renovation, forcing them to assume a negative position towards the more severe vanguard manifestations, namely towards Italian Futurism. Tradition, supposedly dead at the hands of vanguard decrees, must therefore relive and return in the works of Pessoa and Pound who find in criticism, in the experience of the voice (of the multiplicity of voices that founds and conforms poetry) and in translation the means by which it can return. The ideals of a poetic depersonalization, crystallized in the expedients of the persona and heteronymia (but set in movement also through translation and critical pages) are hence understood as crucial steps in the search for conservation and renovation of the voices that come from tradition. Situated in a period of aesthetic extremisms (from which they are never far themselves), Pessoa and Pound are read as milestones in which poetic modernity is effected at the same time as it is betrayed, where the new and the old have their definitions blurred, bringing about a definition of modernity that is composed by its very own indefiniteness and contradictions.

Esta dissertação propõe um estudo comparativo das obras críticas e poéticas de Fernando Pessoa e Ezra Pound, partindo da hipótese central de que a leitura conjunta dos seus textos proporciona um ângulo privilegiado de análise, tanto de seus procedimentos específicos quanto de alguns dos aspectos axiais da poesia moderna e das tensões que os constituem. Focaliza, para tanto, as estratégias formais que os poetas utilizam na busca por uma espécie de despersonalização poética (seja na escrita de poesia, seja em sua leitura e em sua crítica): os fenômenos da heteronímia e da persona. Como eixo organizador dessa leitura, encontra-se a relação dos dois autores com a tradição literária entendida como arquivo de escritos que caberia ao poeta contemporâneo (moderno e antimoderno) conservar e renovar, o que os faz assumir uma postura contrária à das manifestações mais severas das vanguardas, sobretudo do Futurismo italiano, com as quais polemizam. A tradição, supostamente morta pelos decretos vanguardistas, deve então reviver e retornar nas obras de Pessoa e de Pound que encontram na crítica, na experiência da voz (da multiplicidade de vozes que funda e conforma a poesia) e na tradução os meios próprios para esse retorno. Os ideais de uma despersonalização poética, cristalizados nos expedientes da persona e da heteronímia (mas postas em movimento também em suas traduções e páginas críticas), são lidos aqui, portanto, como passos em busca da conservação e da renovação das vozes que vêm da tradição. Situados num período de extremismos estéticos (nos quais eles também incorrem constantemente), Pessoa e Pound são lidos nessa dissertação como marcos em que a modernidade poética se realiza e ao mesmo tempo se trai, balizas em que o novo e o antigo têm suas definições borradas e em que a modernidade se define por meio de suas próprias indefinições e contradições. / This dissertation proposes a comparative study of critical and poetic works by Fernando Pessoa and Ezra Pound, based on the central hypothesis that the joined reading of their texts enables a privileged angle of analysis with respect to their specific procedures as well as to the axial aspect of modern poetry and its constituting tensions. As such, the present study focuses on the formal strategies utilized by the poets in their quest for poetic depersonalization (whether in their writing of poetry, or in their reading and critique): the phenomena of heteronymia and of persona. The organizing axis of this reading is framed within the relation of both authors to literary tradition understood as an archive of writings that is bestowed upon the contemporary (modern and anti-modern) poet for conservation and renovation, forcing them to assume a negative position towards the more severe vanguard manifestations, namely towards Italian Futurism. Tradition, supposedly dead at the hands of vanguard decrees, must therefore relive and return in the works of Pessoa and Pound who find in criticism, in the experience of the voice (of the multiplicity of voices that founds and conforms poetry) and in translation the means by which it can return. The ideals of a poetic depersonalization, crystallized in the expedients of the persona and heteronymia (but set in movement also through translation and critical pages) are hence understood as crucial steps in the search for conservation and renovation of the voices that come from tradition. Situated in a period of aesthetic extremisms (from which they are never far themselves), Pessoa and Pound are read as milestones in which poetic modernity is effected at the same time as it is betrayed, where the new and the old have their definitions blurred, bringing about a definition of modernity that is composed by its very own indefiniteness and contradictions.

Ce mémoire se veut une réflexion sur la place de l'interprétation dans un travail de traduction d’œuvres poétiques. La réflexion s'articule premièrement autour de l'exemple d'Ezra Pound, traducteur de poèmes chinois classiques. Elle se poursuit par une exploration des possibilités interprétatives contenues dans le langage lui-même, pour se conclure par une expérience subjective de traduction. J'ai choisi de traduire trois poèmes de Xi Chuan, poète chinois appartenant au mouvement de la poésie obscure. La poésie obscure est un courant littéraire contemporain, qui se poursuit encore aujourd'hui sous l'appellation de poésie post-obscure. Les travaux de Xi Chuan sont un exemple de la recherche d'une nouvelle forme d'expression pour les poètes chinois contemporains, soit l'émergence de la voix subjective, phénomène directement relié à une prise de position face au passé traditionnel et au désir d’émancipation et d’autonomie de l’expression littéraire. Cette place qu’occupe le poète obscur entre le nouveau et l'ancien permet à l'individu d’interpréter d’une manière plus personnelle le présent. De la même manière, le traducteur doit rompre avec le passé (soit le texte de départ) pour permettre l’interprétation et la projection du nouveau texte dans l’avenir (soit dans la langue d’arrivée). / This dissertation strives to be a reflection on the importance of interpretation in a translation of poetic language. This reflection takes is point of departure from the example of Ezra Pound, translator of classic Chinese poems. It continues with an exploration of the interpretative possibilities included in language itself, concluding with a subjective experience of translation. I chose to translate three poems by Xi Chuan, a Chinese poet belonging to the obscure poetry movement. Obscure poetry is a contemporary literary movement which still continues today under the name of post-obscure poetry. Xi Chuan’s writings are an example of the search for a new expressive form for contemporary Chinese poets or, in other words, for the emergence of a subjective voice that is directly related to taking a stand with regard to the traditional past while striving for the emancipation and autonomy of literary expression. The place occupied by the obscure poet between the new and the old allows the individual to interpret the present in a manner that is more personal. In the same way, the translator has to break away from the past (in other words, the original text) to allow for interpretation and the projection of the new text into the future (that is, the receiving language).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 276-292). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This research seeks to retrieve elements of an economic ethic from Ezra’s building project that can dialogue with poverty and economic inequality in Homoine district in Mozambique. The research argues that the Mosaic economic ethic retrieved from Ezra’s building project is a valuable biblical resource which can be used to orient economic analysis and reflection in Homoine district in the context of poverty and economic inequality. This research consists of three related parts. One part consists of a detailed socio-historical analysis of the context of poverty and economic inequality in Homoine district in Mozambique. The focus here is on three related issues. Firstly, it analyses the general economic-historical background of Mozambique, focusing on the three micro-economic policies that have been influencing the development process of the country since independence. Secondly, it locates Homoine district within this economic-historical background of the country, focusing on the causes of poverty and economic inequality in Homoine district. Thirdly, it analyses the response of the church (United Methodist Church in Mozambique) to the problems of poverty and economic inequality in Homoine district. The second part consists of a socio-historical and literary analysis of Ezra’s building project. The focus here is on three related aspects. Firstly, it analyses the economic-historical background of Ezra’s building project, focusing on the economic situation of the Israelites who were left in Palestine after the destruction of Judah, the economic situation of the Israelites who were deported to Babylon and the economic policies of Persia. Secondly, it locates Ezra 3 within this economic-historical context in order to retrieve elements of an economic ethic from this narrative. Thirdly, it analyses the response of religion towards the economic struggle in Ezra’s building project. The third part consists of an analogical dialogue between Ezra’s building project and the context of poverty and economic inequality in Homoine district. The focus here is on the affinity of struggle for economic liberation between the two contexts and the relevance of the Mosaic economic ethic retrieved from Ezra’s building project in the context of poverty and economic inequality in Homoine district. The research concludes by suggesting that the United Methodist Church and/or theologians should educate communities in Homoine district (and elsewhere in Mozambique) about the Mosaic memory and its liberation capacity as an alternative economic motivation which can reduce the problems of poverty and economic inequality. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

For many pre-modern and modern critics, the emergence of Ezra among the post-exilic Jerusalem community marks a significant event in the beginning stages of Judaism. Ezra’s promulgation of a “law of Moses,” bolstered by the theory of Persian imperial authorization, is often viewed as the moment at which the final form of the Pentateuch is published. The accounts contained in Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 8-10, however, continue to present historical and literary problems for the exegete. Compounding the difficulties for a reconstruction of Ezra’s activities, recent scholarship has raised questions concerning the viability of state-sanctioned support for the Pentateuch and revived skepticism on the historicity of Ezra and the reliability of the biblical witness. Still, the Ezra Memoir (EM) remains an important source that is shaped by the political, religious, and social worldview of post-exilic Yehud. This study incorporates two scholarly debates: on the one hand, the identification of EM and its supplemental layers; and on the other hand, the development of the Pentateuch up to this period. After the parameters of EM are identified in Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 8-10, this study supports EM’s use of Deuteronomic and Priestly literature but adds that EM also demonstrates significant literary connections to pentateuchal strands that are neither Deuteronomic nor Priestly. These strands are distinguished by the narrative and historical claims that are preserved in the classical pentateuchal documents. This study concludes that EM is a product of the Second Temple that anticipates the final form of the Pentateuch by collecting and integrating multiple presentations of the wilderness generation into a super-narrative that projects Ezra and the returnees as a second exodus and Sinai generation that supersedes their predecessors.

Hello From Across the Past is a collection of poems written either while I was enrolled at the University of New Orleans MFA program or before, in Knoxville.

There has been an emergent trend in literary studies that challenges the tendency to categorize our approach to literature. This new investment in the idea of "world literature," while exciting, is also both theoretically and pragmatically problematic. While theorists can usually articulate a defense of a wider approach to literature, they struggle to develop a tangible approach to such an ideal. By examining Ezra Pound's critical approach to poetry, especially in The Cantos, an applicable visualization of a global approach to literature becomes more transparent.