Joe Winter
Encyclopedia
Joe Winter is a British educationist and poet
who is renowned for translating poets Rabindranath Tagore
and Jibanananda Das
.
in 1943 and educated, amongst others, at Exeter College, Oxford
. He taught English
in secondary schools in London from 1967 to 1994. Taking early retirement, he moved to India
and lived in Calcutta until the end of 2006. Then he went back home and resettled in London. He learned Bengali
during this period and started to translate Bengali literary works into English. While in Calcutta, Joe Winter regularly contributed to The Statesman
paper. He now teaches in Ardingly College
, Sussex.
'Earthquake at Kutch', however, is less lyrical:
In addition to poetry of his own, he has published translations of Rabindranath Tagore's Song Offering
(Gitanjali
) and 'Lipika'. In collaboration with Devadatta Joardar, he also translated 'Atmaparichay' of Rabindranath Tagore under the title 'Of Myself'.
He has translated Rupashi Bangla of poet Jibanananda Das
. Other poems of Jibanananda translated by him have been collected in a book titled Naked Lonely Hand. He had also translated songs of Lalan Fakir into English which were published in The Statesman
. Joe’s new title, The Golden Boat, a collection of Tagore poems (Sonaar Tori) in English translation, has been published by Anvil Press.
The latest collection of his own poems is Guest in Host.
into English
. Below is a translation of a poem by Jibanananda Das
who is said to be the most difficult of all modern Bengali
poets for translation :
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
who is renowned for translating poets Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
and Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das was a noted Bengali poet. He is considered one of the precursors who introduced modernist poetry to Bengali Literature, at a period when it was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's Romantic poetry....
.
Biography
He was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1943 and educated, amongst others, at Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
. He taught English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
in secondary schools in London from 1967 to 1994. Taking early retirement, he moved to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and lived in Calcutta until the end of 2006. Then he went back home and resettled in London. He learned Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
during this period and started to translate Bengali literary works into English. While in Calcutta, Joe Winter regularly contributed to The Statesman
The Statesman
The Statesman is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata, New Delhi, Siliguri and Bhubaneswar. The Statesman is owned by The Statesman Ltd., its headquarters at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Calcutta and its national...
paper. He now teaches in Ardingly College
Ardingly College
Ardingly College is a selective independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1858 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The college is located in the village of Ardingly near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, having moved to its present...
, Sussex.
Literary works
Joe Winter began to write poetry in 1962. His A Miracle was published in 1972. He has also written literary articles and essays. His works have been compiled in eleven volumes of poetry, an autobiography and a book on the poetry of schoolchildren. Just after arriving in India in 1994 he published Indian Song. The following year he published Night out, Meditation and Birth of spring. The same year another anthology of poems titled Page torn from a diary was brought out. The Green Box was published in 1996. Another collection of poems 1984 was published in 1997. A literary essay titled In defence of poetry was published in 1996. Later, To do with freedom was published in 2000.Calcutta poems
Joe Winter composed a number of poems during his Calcutta life which have been published under the title 'Guest and Host'. As the book cover blurb informs, this group of poems 'records the experience of being welcomed into the household of a foreign country' and does so well. Many of the poems deal with the quotidian. The majority of the volume comprises two long poems. The first a sonnet-sequence ('Guest and Host') named after the collections title, and the other a poem on the 2001 earthquake in Kutch ('Earthquake at Kutch'). 'Guest and Host' is predominantly lyrical in style and diction : in 'Highway 34' he reads as follows.
Sometimes when I walk where trees were tall
I am in a prisoner-of-war camp debating poetry
with Colonel-General Loblein. Hostilities were over
and I was in charge of the German Officers' 'hostel'
outside Jessore. As part of my duties
I re-interpreted the Geneva Convention on canteen rights.
'Earthquake at Kutch', however, is less lyrical:
Shadows of trees, branch-shadows, shadows of leaves
stray in the dust. Only the trees are standing.
Slight shapes chequer a quiet space of ground.
Publications
Song Offering
Song Offerings is a volume of lyrics by Bengali poet Rabindranath Thakur , rendered into English by the poet himself, for which he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1913.-Contents:...
(Gitanjali
Gitanjali
Gitanjali is a collection of 103 English poems, largely translations, of the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore.This volume became very famous in the West, and was widely translated....
) and 'Lipika'. In collaboration with Devadatta Joardar, he also translated 'Atmaparichay' of Rabindranath Tagore under the title 'Of Myself'.
He has translated Rupashi Bangla of poet Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das was a noted Bengali poet. He is considered one of the precursors who introduced modernist poetry to Bengali Literature, at a period when it was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's Romantic poetry....
. Other poems of Jibanananda translated by him have been collected in a book titled Naked Lonely Hand. He had also translated songs of Lalan Fakir into English which were published in The Statesman
The Statesman
The Statesman is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper founded in 1875 and published simultaneously in Kolkata, New Delhi, Siliguri and Bhubaneswar. The Statesman is owned by The Statesman Ltd., its headquarters at Statesman House, Chowringhee Square, Calcutta and its national...
. Joe’s new title, The Golden Boat, a collection of Tagore poems (Sonaar Tori) in English translation, has been published by Anvil Press.
The latest collection of his own poems is Guest in Host.
A good hand in translation
Joe being a poet has been more successful than many others in translating Bengali poetryBengali poetry
Bengali poetry is a form that originated in Pāli and other Prakrit socio-cultural traditions. It is antagonistic towards Vedic rituals and laws as opposed to the shramanic traditions such as Buddhism and Jainism...
into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Below is a translation of a poem by Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das was a noted Bengali poet. He is considered one of the precursors who introduced modernist poetry to Bengali Literature, at a period when it was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's Romantic poetry....
who is said to be the most difficult of all modern Bengali
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
poets for translation :
SHE
She called me to her and said
‘The river-water
is your eyes’ faded cane-berry colour;
from weariness, from blood,
it soothes the ground around, makes new;
the river here is you.’
‘Might it be Dhanshiri?’
I asked the kingfisher.
The river had been given its name by her.
I seek the deep girl now: but she
adrift on water’s endless stair
is out somewhere.
An aeon ago within
an endless interleaf of white and black—from Time’s interior,
in love with fish and soul and kingfisher,
a woman appearing . . . if she had not been
a 24-carat-city-girl, in love with the bright lights, she—
she would have been the Dhanshiri.