Manitoba poets offer rare translation of German devotional poems
Annual spiritual discipline offers gift to readers
a trio of poets in Winnipeg are sharing their Lenten spiritual tradition of translating poetry, this time with the world.
Joanne Epp, Sarah Klassen and Sally Ito have often translated poems during Advent or Lent. In 2019 they resumed the practice with a series of sonnets by Catharina Regina von Greiffenberg (1633–1694) that focus on the wonders that occurred when Jesus was crucified, like the sun becoming dark or the temple curtain being ripped in two.
The 17th-century poet was “fairly well-known during her lifetime, but appears to have fallen off people’s radar,” says Klassen. Von Greiffenberg wrote hundreds of sonnets and lyric poems in German, and often focused on scriptural themes such as Lent, Easter, Pentecost and the attributes of God, as well as some about nature. Pandemic lockdowns began shortly after the women started their translations and they moved their meetings online.
“We realized that this weekly routine of translating was providing some much-needed structure and purpose when things were unpredictable and chaotic,” says Epp, adding the collaboration makes the translations stronger.
The team kept translating throughout the spring and summer, and decided to publish their works online. English translations of von Greiffenberg’s poems are quite rare, says Epp, who hadn’t heard of the poet until a few years ago when Ito found pieces in an anthology at a library book sale.
This Lent the women translated von Greiffenberg’s sonnets based on Jesus’ seven sayings from the cross. “It’s offered a new perspective,” Epp says, noting the poems could make good devotional literature to help readers focus more on Christ’s death. “She’s very free with her passionate language and depth of feeling, and invites the reader to be passionate as well.” Epp says the group would like to eventually publish a book of the poems. They can be found at www.GreiffenbergSonnets.ca.