The Foreign Connection: Writings on Poetry, Art and Translation

The word ‘foreign’ has gathered hostile associations but its Latin root – foris: a door – is close to the spirit of these writings which explore openings and connections across and within artforms, eras, cultures and languages. McKendrick traces a series of dynamic, often unexpected refigurations of idea, image and structure from Gaius Valerius Catullus to Valerio Magrelli, from the French early Renaissance miniaturist Jean Bourdichon to the contemporary Belgian painter Luc Tuymans. Various kinds of translation and traversal are central to these essays which consider art and poetry from Italy, France, Germany, Russia as well as Ireland, Britain and the U.S. Other topics include Titian’s debt to Ovid and Catullus, Dante seen through translation and through Botticelli’s illustrations, Michelangelo as poet, Blake as painter, the use of Plutarch by Shakespeare and Cavafy, the strange convergences between Whitman and Baudelaire, and Elizabeth Bishop, as both poet and painter, as well as her Baudelairean correspondences.

Jamie McKendrick is distinguished both as a poet and translator, and is a Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana. His seven collections have won the Forward Prize, the Hawthornden Prize and, in 2019, the Cholmondeley Award, and his Selected Poems are published by Faber. As a translator he has won the Oxford Weidenfeld Prize and the John Florio Prize (twice), and he is the editor of the Faber Book of Twentieth-Century Italian Poems.

Reviews:

‘This book might have been written for my pleasure. Many readers of this journal will surely feel the same.’ — Chris Miller, PN Review 28.3, January/February 2022
‘There is a natural clemency at work, throughout the entire volume, which has nothing to do with fuzzy-mindedness – quite the contrary, but it means that McKendrick will never deliver the frenzied hatchet-job some poets (whom he admires) can execute, apparently with sangfroid. This intelligence – by definition an ironic intelligence in that it can simultaneously entertain different positions – is what makes him such a trustworthy guide. One feels also that humour, that saving resource, is always within reach... His astute use of quotation to illustrate a point is a fiduciary of sound judgement. Above all, Jamie McKendrick reminds us that there is no substitute for patient looking and listening. This close attention, this authentic love of the art, is rare in our day. These writings are to be prized.’ — Stephen Romer, The London Magazine February/March 2022, 77-84
‘A welcome marker to remind us, if we needed reminding, of how much human beings need, and gain from, dialogue with other cultures and languages. The apparently foreign, as Jamie McKendrick demonstrates so well here, in fact shows us a threshold, a door.’ — Hilary Davies, Times Literary Supplement 19 May 2023, p. 8
‘What Jamie McKendrick so finely details about Tom Lubbock’s English Graphic is an entirely apt description for his own collection of brief reviews, introductions, and essays, on literature and art: ‘The constraints of the form proved exceptionally viable and liberating for his procedures. Providing a “wiry outline”, the form itself allowed for wit, aperçu, mental calisthenics, provocation, aphorism, meditation and surprisingly sustained argument’.’ — George Kalogeris, Essays in Criticism 73.1, 2023, 130-31 (full text online)

Contents:

1-6	Introduction Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.4	Cite
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9-10	1 Silent Parishes Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.5	Cite
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11-14	2 Sinister Experiments Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.6	Cite
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15-24	3 Forms of Fidelity: Poetry Translation as Literary Activism Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.7	Cite
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27-33	4 Naming Names: Ideas of Address in Catullus and Others Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.8	Cite
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34-37	5 The Seeing Ocean and the Heartless Theseus: Catullus, Dante, Titian Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.9	Cite
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38-39	6 Dante: Inferno, translated by Robin Kirkpatrick Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.10	Cite
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40-41	7 More Hell Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.11	Cite
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42-45	8 A Commentary on Dante, Purgatorio xxx Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.12	Cite
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46-54	9 Beyond the Human: Dante’s Paradiso Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.13	Cite
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55-58	10 Botticelli’s Dante Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.14	Cite
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59-60	11 Bourdichon: The Big Miniature Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.15	Cite
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61-63	12 Michelangelo the Poet Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.16	Cite
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64-68	13 Velázquez: Epiphanies of the Disregarded Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.17	Cite
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69-73	14 The Herculean Labours of William Blake, Painter & Poet Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.18	Cite
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74-83	15 Passing Strangers: Whitman and Baudelaire Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.19	Cite
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84-86	16 Dickinson and Duration Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.20	Cite
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87-88	17 Odilon Redon: Dreams Fit to Live Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.21	Cite
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89-91	18 Skulls and Flags: James Ensor Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.22	Cite
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92-100	19 A Music of Hautboys: Plutarch, Shakespeare, Cavafy, Eliot Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.23	Cite
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103-106	20 Wassily Kandinsky Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.24	Cite
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107-110	21 Clown of Ocean: Jack B. Yeats Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.25	Cite
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111-113	22 Castile via Caledonia: Antonio Machado and Don Paterson’s The Eyes Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.26	Cite
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114-116	23 Rilkean Thresholds Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.27	Cite
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117-117	24 Compass and File: The Poetry of Edward Thomas Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.28	Cite
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118-120	25 Amadeo Modigliani Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.29	Cite
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121-122	26 Luigi Russolo: Life and Works of a Futurist Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.30	Cite
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123-126	27 Kurt Schwitters: Merzfest Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.31	Cite
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127-130	28 War Paint: C. R. W. Nevinson Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.32	Cite
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131-134	29 Paul Nash: Modern Artist, Ancient Landscape Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.33	Cite
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135-138	30 Stuart Davis: Reality’s Ouch Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.34	Cite
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139-142	31 Chaim Soutine: The Hunger Artist Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.35	Cite
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143-145	32 Alberto Giacometti Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.36	Cite
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146-148	33 Trakl, Celan, Goethe Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.37	Cite
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149-157	34 Eugenio Montale: Two Jackals on a Leash Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.38	Cite
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158-162	35 More Montale Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.39	Cite
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163-165	36 Hart Crane: The Imaged Word Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.40	Cite
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166-167	37 Obituary: Attilio Bertolucci Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.41	Cite
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168-173	38 Giorgio Bassani: The Novel of Ferrara Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.42	Cite
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174-176	39 Stealing the Pumpkins: Cesare Pavese Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.43	Cite
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177-179	40 Pier Paolo Pasolini: Affabulazione. Introduction Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.44	Cite
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180-197	41 Bishop’s Birds Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.45	Cite
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198-200	42 Singing to the Marvellous Stove: Elizabeth Bishop’s Artwork Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.46	Cite
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201-203	43 Curios in Paradise: Elizabeth Bishop’s Letters Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.47	Cite
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204-207	44 Interior Landscapes and the Mind’s Eye: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.48	Cite
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208-212	45 Keith Douglas’s Desert Flowers and Repetition Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.49	Cite
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215-216	46 Larkin’s Prose Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.50	Cite
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217-220	47 Hans Magnus Enzensberger: New Selected Poems Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.51	Cite
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221-223	48 Ted Hughes: The Deeps are Cold Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.52	Cite
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224-227	49 Congeries of Emotion: Arun Kolatkar Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.53	Cite
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228-229	50 The World’s Violences: C. K. Williams’s The Vigil Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.54	Cite
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230-230	51 Another Ten: Sixty Poems by Ian Hamilton Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.55	Cite
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231-233	52 Seamus Heaney: Opened Ground Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.56	Cite
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234-235	53 The Locative: Seamus Heaney’s Electric Light Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.57	Cite
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236-237	54 Word Made Flesh: Seamus Heaney’s Bivalves Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.58	Cite
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238-240	55 Derek Mahon: Earth-Residence Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.59	Cite
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241-242	56 Ticktock Cries and Tin Tents: Tom Paulin’s Walking a Line Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.60	Cite
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243-244	57 Peekaboo Quiffs and Eel-Spears: Paul Muldoon’s The Annals of Chile Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.61	Cite
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245-251	58 Corona, Corona: Repetitions and Strange Adjacencies Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.62	Cite
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252-254	59 Selected, Selected: Michael Hofmann and Bernard O’Donoghue Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.63	Cite
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255-257	60 Mornings in the Grayzone: Durs Grünbein Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.64	Cite
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258-261	61 Luc Tuymans: Belgium and the Congo Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.65	Cite
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262-266	62 Arturo Di Stefano: Lasting Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.66	Cite
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267-271	63 Tom Lubbock’s English Graphic: Introduction Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.67	Cite
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272-277	64 Valerio Magrelli: He Digesteth Harde Yron Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.68	Cite
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278-281	65 Valerio Magrelli: Seeing Darkly Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.69	Cite
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282-285	66 Antonella Anedda: Island and Mainland Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.70	Cite
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286-288	Epilogue Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.71	Cite
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289-294	INDEX Jamie McKendrick doi:10.2307/j.ctv1wsgrfk.72	Cite
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Bibliography entry:

McKendrick, Jamie, The Foreign Connection: Writings on Poetry, Art and Translation, Transcript, 17 (Legenda, 2020)

First footnote reference: ³⁵ The Foreign Connection: Writings on Poetry, Art and Translation, jamie McKendrick, Transcript, 17 (Legenda, 2020), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: ³⁷ McKendrick, p. 47.

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Bibliography entry:

McKendrick, Jamie. 2020. The Foreign Connection: Writings on Poetry, Art and Translation, Transcript, 17 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (McKendrick 2020: 21).

Example footnote reference: ³⁵ McKendrick 2020: 21.

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The Foreign ConnectionWritings on Poetry, Art and Translation

Jamie McKendrick

The Foreign Connection
Writings on Poetry, Art and Translation