The Scotsman

Relics o Langage

Bygyőzőfer­encz

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Scottish poet Tom Hubbard met Győző Ferencz at Belgium’s Leuven Internatio­nal Poetry Festival in 1987. The fruit of their long friendship can be found in a new pamphlet, Minoritie Status (Tapsalteer­ie, £5), where Hubbard translates Ferencz’s Hungarian poetry into Scots. Ferencz describes the project as the translatio­n of Hungarian, “a language spoken by relatively few, into Scots, another language spoken by relatively few. It is a deeply European idea, against insularity, seclusion and its consequenc­es, provincial­ism, intoleranc­e, discrimina­tion, bias, and violence.” On 16 November at the Scottish Poetry Library (tickets £5), Ferencz will be joined by Scottish poets Stuart A Paterson and Marcas Mac an Tuairneir to launch Minoritie Status.

My voce is sic ane sindry clatter My lugs is deaved wi somebdy’s patter

That comes frae whaur, and wha? O thon clanjamfri­e, whilk am I? Gin I could seeve it oot somewey

Frae aa thon smush – weill, braw.

But the aich o my ain voce, that’s thrawn, Juist thraws the mair the aich o thon,

And as they dirl and dunner, Relics o a forgotten leid Winna form a weill-composit screed,

Fir at thon task, they scunner. You can find a copy of by Minoritie Status by Győző Ferencz at the Scottish Poetry Library, 5 Crichton’s Close, Edinburgh EH8 8DT. For poetry enquiries, e-mail reception@spl.org.uk or visit www.scottishpo­etrylibrar­y.org.uk

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