The Muse of the Violets: Poems

A lovely little selection of Vivien's work. I particularly loved "Words to a Lover", "You for Whom I Wrote", and "The Touch". This publication has two translators (occasionally including the same poems), with the first have carried by Margaret Porter and the latter by Catherine Kroger. Both have

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very different styles of translations, with Porter creating an English rhyme scheme to mimic Vivien's, while Kroger adhering more to a literal one. I'll illustrate with "You for Whom I Wrote:

Songerez-vous, parmi le désordre charmant
De vos cheveux épars, de vos robes défaites :
« Cette femme, à travers les sanglots et les fêtes,
A porté ses regards et ses lèvres d’amant. » (original)


Will you sit dreaming, amid the charming disarray
Of disheveled hair, open robes, of hers you never discover
Wherever you look: "Whether on day of mourning or festival day,
This woman wore always her glance, her lips of a lover." (Porter)


Will you dream, amongst the charming disorder
Of your scattered hair, and your undone robes:
"This woman, through tears and joy
Maintained her gaze and her lover's lips." (Kroger)


I really loved Catherine Kroger's translations—conservative while still enamoring, all while keeping Vivien's original French flavor we've all come to love (though I must forworn I am a literalist when it comes to translations). And just in case you're not reading with translation difficulties in mind or want to show a friend a poem that's probably more readable than Kroger's, Porter is still there to savor and pin-up without looking like a tasteless academic freak.

I recommend for people interested in Vivien's work to check out A Crown of Violets first, especially the new 2017 edition as it contains so many poems with the advantage of the dual French-English format for reference (and because I know how hard it is to get a copy of this if you don't want to pay an exorbitant sum). Very lovely little gem of queer female history I am so proud to own and enjoy!

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