The Undying Day
Poems by Hans Brinckmann
by
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On Eurostar, London-Paris
Like shadows of a former self
Deserted villages flit fitfully by
Their church spires rank reminders
Of past acts of ardour, cloaked in faith,
Of devout, unapologetic passion.
Awash we were with energy and adoration
And sensuality we dared call love.
Where are they now, those reckless moments
Of rapturous, guilty innocence?
Where are the whisperings of our worship?
Have they too gone deadly cold
Like those piles of stone, there
Beyond the now leafless trees?
Has time erased what once consumed our souls?
Untended fires flicker, then expire,
Leaving ashes white with evidence.
The spires, empty now of fervent prayer,
Mark memory’s horizon like headstones.
We’re almost there: at Gare du Nord
All will be wiped, but - like e-mail binned
Etched onto the hard disk of experience:
Unseen, entombed, forever gone, forever there.
(November 2000)
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About the Book
A widowed water bird in an Amsterdam canal… abandoned villages ‘flitting fitfully by’ as he rides the Eurostar to Paris… the sun, ‘averse to setting, extending the you-filled day’… such are the diverse sources of inspiration for Brinckmann’s poetry.
Unconstrained by locale or subject matter, his lines celebrate the marvel of love and ponder life’s irretrievable losses. He is no stranger to whimsy either, nor to the search for life’s ultimate meaning.
After publishing a highly-acclaimed autobiography (The Magatama Doodle, 2005); a cosmopolitan collection of stories (Noon Elusive, 2006); and a history of postwar Japan (Showa Japan, 2008), Brinckmann now offers his readers this selection of his poetry, written over the past half-century in seven countries. The book ends with the memorable Ballad of Hope Hill, set to music and performed in The Netherlands.
Brinckmann’s translator, Hiromi Mizoguchi, has rendered the poems into exquisite Japanese, shown side-by-side with the originals.
“終わらない一日…”
アムステルダムの運河をさまよう孤独な水鳥。パリ行きユーロスターの車窓から見える「素早く通り過ぎて行く」見捨てられた村々。「きみへの思いに満ちあふれた一日を引き延ばそうと」なかなか沈まない太陽。ブリンクマンの詩は自由奔放な生命と力にあふれ、場所も主題もさまざまだ。愛の歓びをうたいあげ、人生における取り返しのつかない喪失感をうたう。諧謔の精神を讃え、生の根源の姿を探し求める。
朝日新聞書評にて絶賛された自伝『まがたま模様の落書き』（２００５）、戦後の日本社会を論評した『あるオランダ人の「昭和ジャパン」論』（２００８）の作者による本書収録３３篇の詩は、過去５０年間七カ国において創作された。２０００年オランダで歌曲として初演された「希望の丘のバラード」が本書の巻末を飾る。
About the Author
Hans Brinckmann,born in The Hague, has been writing poetry and prose from his early teens. In the bleakness of post-war Holland he had to postpone his plans to become a writer and joined an international bank instead. After a career that took him to Japan, the U.S. and other countries, he turned to full-time writing at age 56 and has since published several books of fiction and non-fiction. In 1986 he was made an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for ‘cultural and professional achievement.'
URL:
www.habri.jp(English/Japanese)
www.habri.co.uk(English)
Hiromi Mizoguchi, translator, born in Tokyo, holds an MA from the Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University. She has translated most of Brinckmann’s writings into Japanese.
ハンス•ブリンクマン
１９３２年、オランダのハーグ市生まれ。中学生の頃から詩や散文を創作していたものの、終戦直後のオランダの厳しい経済状況のなか作家になる夢を捨て国際銀行に就職。日本、米国を含む国々で駐在生活を送る。５６歳より本格的な執筆活動を展開、フィクションとノンフィクションの作品を精力的に発表。１９８６年、オランダ王室よりオランユ•ナソー勲章を叙勲。
URL:
www.habri.jp（日本語／英語）www.habri.co.uk（英語のみ）
溝口広美（みぞぐちひろみ）
東京生まれ。翻訳家。九州大学大学院比較社会文化研究科修士課程修了。訳書にブリンクマン著『まがたま模様の落書き — あるオランダ人が見た昭和の日々』（２００５年）、『あるオランダ人の「昭和ジャパン」論』（２００８年）など。