Praising the Other: Send us Voki Poems in all the languages of the world !

School Beyond the Walls is preparing a cultural event around "Sharing Poetry". We propose you send us video-poems or voki-poems or text-poems in english of course, but also in evry kind of language...

Topic: Praising the Other
Poetry reveals this essential truth: everything which seems to us Other, strange and exotic is a part of the mystery within us. If the language of the poem takes us beyond our limits, it is to make the unknown attractive, the unknown which surrounds and lives within us : "I am Other..."wrote Rimbaud.

Every poem is addressed to Another - and an invitation to break out from our "constricting skin" to open us up to encounters in which we share our differences, the generosity of which gives meaning to human community.

Thus I propose that members of Outside the Walls choose poems on the theme of Praising the Other, the celebration of crossroads and roundabouts, encountering and blending - and also that they write their own poems on this challenging theme.

We will then be able to absorb these poems and recite them at Manosque - and elsewhere - translate them (as best we can) into as many languages as we can, and be creative in other ways...

The most important thing is that the event should be broadening and inspiring, and that those attending will enjoy both the bitter and the sweet fruits of poetry.

Some examples of video-poems:

in french...

Trouvez plus de vidéos comme celle-ci sur Hors les Murs - Beyond The Walls
in lituanian:

Trouvez plus de vidéos comme celle-ci sur Hors les Murs - Beyond The Walls
Voki Poems in romanian, in french ...

Voki-Poems Group
Poets' Spring Group

Tags: poetry, praising+other, sharing, video+poems, voki+poems

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Permalink Reply by Vincent Mespoulet on February 21, 2008 at 4:05am

Hi Jim,

thank you very much, wonderful choice: Wilfred Owen is a great poet. I'm finding now a good french translation. I don't know if you are interested by this poet but we have in France a very good and active site about him "Association Wilfred Owen"... Many great poets were involverd and died during this terrible war. We have also french poet Apollinaire , he died 2 days before the end of the war and was wounded two years before...

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Permalink Reply by Vincent Mespoulet on February 21, 2008 at 4:31am

i got it:

Dulce et decorum est.
Pliés en deux comme de vieux mendiants sous leur sac,
Cagneux, toussant comme des vielles, nous jurions dans la fange,
Quand enfin nous tournâmes le dos aux éclairantes.
Nous avions pris la longue route de notre lointain repos.
Les hommes marchaient endormis. Beaucoup allaient sans chaussures.
Avançaient en boitant, les pieds en sang. Tous estropiés, aveuglés,
Saoul de fatigue, sourds même aux huhulements
Des 5.9 lents, dépassés, qui tombaient derrière eux.

Gaz ! Gaz ! Vite, les gars ! En panique on déballe,
On passe juste à temps les masques encombrants....
Mais quelqu'un hurle encore, titube,
Se débat tel un homme dans le feu et la chaux....
Forme vague derrière les verres troubles, l'épaisse lueur verte,
Comme au fond d'une mer je le vis se noyer.

Dans tous mes rêves, sous mes yeux impuissants,
Il s'écroule à mes pieds, crache, suffoque, se noie.

Si toi aussi, dans tes cauchemars, tu pouvais suivre
La charrette dans laquelle on jeta
Et voir ses yeux blancs rouler dans sa face,
Sa face pendante, comme d'un démon malade de son péché,
Si toi aussi, à chaque cahot tu pouvais entendre
Le sang couler à gros bouillons de ses poumons rongés,
Obscène tel un cancer, amer comme le pus
de plaies atroces et incurables sur des langues innocentes-
- Alors, mon ami, tu ne raconterais plus avec tant d'allant
A des enfants avides de gloire désespérée
Ce vieux mensonge: Dulce et decorum est
pro patria mori.
"Il est doux et glorieux de mourir pour la patrie"