English translations

TO SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF
Written by Frederic Tarkmanian, from "Purs poèmes, face à Cécile Coulon".
All rights reserved. © 2020 Edilivre.

I have met so many vile despicable beings,
All naivety was banished from my heart,
Some people are kind, they behave properly,
Some thugs are nothing else but vileness and treachery.

So I love my fellow man… provided he is virtuous,
Far from me blackguards, loathsome creeps,
Deviants, degenerates, monstrous cockroaches,
Deceitful cowards, in sum quite ugly souls!

(Original version in French:)
J’ai croisé tellement d’êtres vils et abjects,
Toute naïveté de mon cœur fut bannie,
Chez certains la bonté, les procédés corrects,
Chez d’autres, les pervers, bassesse et vilenie.

Donc j’aime mon prochain… lorsqu’il est vertueux,
Loin de moi les gredins, les cloportes infâmes,
Tarés, dégénérés, cancrelats monstrueux,
Des fourbes sans courage et de bien laides âmes !

TO MARS
Written by Frederic Tarkmanian, from "Purs poèmes, face à Cécile Coulon".
All rights reserved. © 2020 Edilivre.

They would like to settle themselves on these arid dunes,
A risky trip – death can wait,
Anything can happen, the unforeseen, misfortunes –,
They would have to endure the isolation,
This mental torture far away from our planet,
Bathed in noxious rays,
Decompression, shredding blast,
Fragile bodies protected by a silvery space-suit.

(Original version in French:)
Ils voudraient s’établir sur ces stériles dunes,
Un voyage risqué où la mort peut guetter,
Le pire survenir, imprévus, infortunes,
L’isolement auquel ils doivent s’apprêter,
Ce supplice mental loin de notre planète,
Baignés par des rayons nocifs pour la santé,
La décompression, souffle qui déchiquète,
Fragiles corps bardés d’un scaphandre argenté.

Summary of "A virtuous poet (un vertueux poète)" :

Both a story and a collection of bilingual poems, directly translated in English, Robert Southwell's language, "A virtuous poet" deals with the relationships between a poet and some women he can meet, like young brunette Matilda or writer Blondie.
A pretext to denounce this trend of thrillers, noir fictions, the author calls a "pseudo-literature" considered "violent, unhealthy, shameful and not very intelligent".
For his part, Frederic Tarkmanian promotes a literature turning out to be positive, intelligent, lyric and way more adult.

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Summary of "The accursed writer (L'Écrivain maudit)" :

"Michael Karevic is a writer indeed, but an accursed writer, in the great literary tradition, à la John Keats. While the media's pet novelists contest Goncourt, Renaudot or Femina prizes, Michael Karevic struggles in the underground.
Driving his car in the middle of the countryside, looking for a shortcut that he'll never find, Karevic is going to meet some very different characters, notably Matilda, a young poetry loving brunette, and Gabriel, a solitary stroller."

Behind its story, The accursed writer conceals a criticism of thrillers, noir fictions, the decline of poetry in France, just like an ode to nature.

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English translations