From Charles Bernstein's Wreading Experiments List.

A lexical translation of a poem my friend Borcsi wrote in Hungarian, a language I cannot understand and can barely pronounce (though Borcsi kindly assures me that my pronunciation is very good when I repeat the select words she has taught me). I used both Google translate and ChatGPT, mostly the former, and then I made some slight adjustments.

I tried to be minimal in my edits, but it was tricky because phrases in Hungarian will sometimes translate to a single word in English and then a single word will translate to an entire phrase, with the meaning varying quite widely. So, for example, the word “hogy” caused me some consternation; in Hungarian, as far as I can tell, it’s a conjunctive that introduces subordinate clauses, but the translator would always output “that” (and according to the exercise you translate each word). So in an English translation you could omit it from the sentence, but I left it at “that” – I thought it would make for a more interesting translation if I kept more closely to the syntax than to (what I took to be) the meaning of each line.

Lights and apparitions Autumn memories Floating they disappear As strong into me they burned How mournful I was How melancholy And how much I see everything newly How magical One year elapsed November 1 - Looking at the date - I am trembling Last year at this time bent over I sobbed. Today I am laughing - there is a power in my voice Bittersweetly sometimes like this too, There is in the world and in me, something which makes me sad - But not sorry for my sorrow I’ll leave it, that it flow through On and on through me all feelings, Champagne excitement and profound suspense Flow through, on me, into the distance And let it carry through every quiver That Born for what. - Let me be here, who I am needed to be. I give Life I give sorrow And I give, that I can see, How I’m changing And one year from her perspective I can say Strong and beautiful the ache.

Just let me do what I have to, that everything passes through And thus the soul, the life, the eternal fun strong feeling Can live in me, life itself Completely Part of me as well as whole For evermore - Serenely with love embrace my aching heart to my chest

Original

Fények és tünemények Őszi emlékképek Lebegve elémtűnnek Ahogy erősen belém égtek Milyen szomorú voltam Milyen bánatos És milyen sok mindent látok most Ami varázslatos Egy év eltelt November 1 - A dátumra nézve - Beleremegek Tavaly ilyenkor görnyedve zokogtam. Ma nevetek - erő van a hangomban Keserédesen néha így is, Van a világban és az én mesében is, ami elszomorít - De nem bánom a bánatom Hagyom, hogy átfollyon Follyon végig rajtam minden érzés, Pezsgő izgalom és mélyrázó kétség Follyon végig, át rajtam, bele a messzességbe És minden rezzenés vigye végbe Azt Amiért született. - Legyek itt az, akinek lenni kellek. Adom az Életet Adom a bánatot És adom, hogy láthatom, Hogyan változom És egy év távlatából mondhatom Erős és gyönyörű a fájdalom.

From Bernadette Mayer's Writing Experiments

Pick a word or phrase at random, let mind play freely around it until a few ideas have come up, then seize on one and begin to write. Try this with a non-connotative word, like "so" etc.

So... bored

Sober

SoCal

Solar

So much more

So much less

So much

So less

So so

So not

Solitaire

Solitary

Sobriquet

Sovereign

Sophisticated

Sophistry

Soporific

Somnolent

Sordid

Sobriety

Social

Soliloquy

So-and-so

Society

So real

So fake

SoBo

Soap and shave

Sotto voce

Sodomy

Sojourner

Sonority

So long

Socialist

Sodere