One Man's Maple Moon: Black and White Paintings Tanka by Pravat
Kumar Padhy
English Original
black and white
paintings on the pot
the transgender
searches the streak of colors
to fill the gap of the emptiness
Special Features:Chiaroscuro LGBT Tanka, Atlas Poetica, August 2012
Pravat Kumar Padhy
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
有關鍋子
的黑白畫
一個變性人
搜索色彩的條紋
來填補空白的間隙
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
有关锅子
的黑白画
一个变性人
搜索色彩的条纹
来填补空白的间隙
black and white
paintings on the pot
the transgender
searches the streak of colors
to fill the gap of the emptiness
Special Features:Chiaroscuro LGBT Tanka, Atlas Poetica, August 2012
Pravat Kumar Padhy
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
有關鍋子
的黑白畫
一個變性人
搜索色彩的條紋
來填補空白的間隙
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
有关锅子
的黑白画
一个变性人
搜索色彩的条纹
来填补空白的间隙
1.
Read in the thematic context of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) studies, the phrases, 'black and white' and
'streak of colors,' carry emotional weight and ideological significance, and L5
has the most weight, adding psychological depth to the poem.
Below is excerpted from Chiaroscuro—25 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Tanka, edited and with an introduction by Janick Belleau:
The title Chiaroscuro is a veiled reference to Torikaebaya Monogatari whose literal translation is ‘If only I could exchange them’ story. It was written around the 12th century in Japan by Anonymous, who, to this day, we do not know, was either a man or a woman. The novel is graced with approximately 80 waka/tanka.
Torikaebaya is the tale of a sister and a brother whose personalities are best suited to the opposite sex. Their father decides, in time, to present them to the Imperial Court in the sexual identity of their choice; both siblings pursue fabulous careers. The Author touches many themes in this novel: Lesbianism, Gayness, Bisexuality, Transgender and Androgyny. The notion of gender is played with humour and psychological insight: one might ask, did writers such as Balzac with Séraphîta (1834) and Virginia Woolf with Orlando (1928) know about Torikaebaya?
The whole book is chiaroscuro: whether it shows the emotional distress of the heroine as a divine nobleman; whether it portrays the shy brother as a lady confidante or ultimately, the lover of the Emperor’s naïve daughter; whether it relates to meetings of lovers between dusk and dawn.
The story, which alludes frequently to Genji Monogatari penned by 10th century Lady Murasaki Shikibu, has been translated into English by Rosette F. Willig in 1983 as The Changelings; into German by Michael Stein in 1994 as Die vertauschten Geschwister (lit. ‘The exchanged siblings’) and into French by Renée Garde in 2009 as Si on les échangeait—Le Genji travesti.
Below is excerpted from Chiaroscuro—25 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Tanka, edited and with an introduction by Janick Belleau:
The title Chiaroscuro is a veiled reference to Torikaebaya Monogatari whose literal translation is ‘If only I could exchange them’ story. It was written around the 12th century in Japan by Anonymous, who, to this day, we do not know, was either a man or a woman. The novel is graced with approximately 80 waka/tanka.
Torikaebaya is the tale of a sister and a brother whose personalities are best suited to the opposite sex. Their father decides, in time, to present them to the Imperial Court in the sexual identity of their choice; both siblings pursue fabulous careers. The Author touches many themes in this novel: Lesbianism, Gayness, Bisexuality, Transgender and Androgyny. The notion of gender is played with humour and psychological insight: one might ask, did writers such as Balzac with Séraphîta (1834) and Virginia Woolf with Orlando (1928) know about Torikaebaya?
The whole book is chiaroscuro: whether it shows the emotional distress of the heroine as a divine nobleman; whether it portrays the shy brother as a lady confidante or ultimately, the lover of the Emperor’s naïve daughter; whether it relates to meetings of lovers between dusk and dawn.
The story, which alludes frequently to Genji Monogatari penned by 10th century Lady Murasaki Shikibu, has been translated into English by Rosette F. Willig in 1983 as The Changelings; into German by Michael Stein in 1994 as Die vertauschten Geschwister (lit. ‘The exchanged siblings’) and into French by Renée Garde in 2009 as Si on les échangeait—Le Genji travesti.
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