Denne censur gør mig ondt, dels fordi de ord, han brugte, dengang var neutrale ord for folk og folkeslag og det derfor burde være muligt at bringe dem - eventuelt med fodnoter eller et forklarende forord. Dels fordi slags amerikanske tilstande med fornærmelses-parathed og følsomheds-censur på andres vegne ikke burde forekomme - og da slet ikke ramme Halfdan Rasmussen, der faktisk var en stor og modig forkæmper for folk, frihed og menneskerettigheder og imod censur. Hans vers om Bødlen for eksempel burde være tvungen læsning for alle mennesker i hele verden.
Og i det tilfælde at du ikke lige kan huske det, vil jeg gengive Elephant's Child's kloge kommentar: "Clothes and people's expectations frequently do chafe. And itch." (tøj og folks forventninger generer ofte - og klør.)
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Today is the 108th birthday of Halfdan Rasmussen. Maybe one of the greatest Danish contemporary poets. MotherOwl holds him in high esteem, and on the occasion of his birthday I will, like at his 105th 106th and 106½th birthdays, publish one of the eight rhymes for children that was censored from the latest collection - and will continue to do so for his next birthday, if I live long enough.
This censorship grieves me as Halfdan Rasmussen is truly a great fighter for freedom and equality, his pen wrote the Danish verse that was turned into Each Small Candle.
The words he used, were the at that time neutral demonyms, and the verses should be included, maybe with a footnote or a preamble.
I wrote that I did not want to make an English versification of the poems, as my less than perfect English poetry would make the verses rather pedestrian. I mourn the fact that I'm not a poetic genius able to render them full justice. His equilibristic verses are serious even at their most playful, and never serious without at least a touch of humour.
But after seeing what Google translate did to those verses, I am supplying a translation - word for word, or rather meaning for meaning with no pretension of any versification.
And just in case you can not remember ;) I want to add Elephant's Child's wise comment here: "Clothes and people's expectations frequently do chafe. And itch."
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En liste over alle de bortcensurerede vers og hvor de er udgivet. All the censored verses and from where they come.
- Lille negerdukke (Børnerim) (2020)
- To små negerdukker (Børnerim) (2021)
- Hittehattehættehuer (Børnerim)
- Rikke (Børnerim)
- Negerdukken lille Sam (Børnerim)
- Sikken et hus (Børnerim)
- Nogle øjne er så smukke (Halfdans rim)
- Alle bilerne fra landet (Halfdans rim)
Negerdukken Lille Sam
Negerdukken lille Sam The Negro doll called Little Sam
kan ikke gøre for det. He just can not help it.
Han kan bare ses ved dag. He can only be seen in the daylight,
Om natten bliver han borte! He disappears at night!
Mors fine dug er hvid. Mamas best tablecloth is white
Jeg syr en skjorte af den. I'll sew a small shirt from it
Så kan Sam få skjorten på Then Little Sam can put it on
så han kan ses om natten! And be seen by night as well!
And here is Little Sam by night in his new, white shirt.
It reminds me of another poem Which I might find and bring later.
I am smiling at your translation. I don't think that any words should be censored - unless they are cruel or hurtful.
SvarSletI don't remember saying those words you quoted but unsurprisingly I agree with them. And the chafe and the itch apply to self expectations too.
Cruel or hurtful are not words that should ever be used about Halfdan Rasmussen's poetry, so no censorship of what he wrote is just odd an unfitting.
SletAnd it's good to know that you still agree with your own self from two years ago - no I did not remember when either, I had to search for it.
Halfdan Rasmussen har skrevet mange fine ting-ingen tvivl om, at han kunne noget med ord. 🙂
SvarSletHan var en ord-troldmand. Jeg er også glad for det her:
SletJeg skriver sjove digte,
jeg skrive også triste.
De første læser andre folk,
selv læser jeg de sidste.
That's a very cute little poem. You did well with the translation. (but your spelling is off: right and night are 'ght' not 'gth')
SvarSletThank you - Yes my spelling in English is bad - and the 'ght' combo is my constant nemesis as is 'w' or 'v' in some words. It is only spell checker that saves me from being atrocious - and spell checker does not work in HTML mode. Thank you!
SletIt is a fine little poem and i know the author intended no malice when he wrote it. As you have said, a short note of explanation should suffice, not censorship.
SvarSletExactly!
Slet