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torsdag den 29. februar 2024

Halfdan Rasmussen 109 år

I dag er det Halfdan Rasmussens 109 års fødselsdag. Lige som sidste år bringer Uglemor et af de otte børnerim, der er blevet bortcensurerede i den nyeste udgave af hans samlede værker. Jeg vil gentage dette på de næste fødselsdage hvis jeg lever så længe.
     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 att du ikke læser kommentarerne, vil jeg lige 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.)

-- 🎂 --

  Today is the 109th 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 other 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 birthdays, 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."

-- 🎂 --

En liste over alle de bortcensurerede vers og hvor de er udgivet.

All the censored verses and from where they come.
  1. Lille negerdukke (Børnerim) (2020)
  2. To små negerdukker (Børnerim) (2021)
  3. Hittehattehættehuer (Børnerim)
  4. Rikke (Børnerim)
  5. Negerdukken lille Sam (Børnerim)
  6. Sikken et hus (Børnerim)
  7. Nogle øjne er så smukke (Halfdans rim)
  8. Alle bilerne fra landet (Halfdans rim)


Hittehattehættehuer

Min nathue huer mig ikke.
Kalotten ka Lotte jo få.
Kasketten ka skytten
benytte om natten
hvis ikke kadetten
med kutten vil ha den,
og hitter jeg hatten
og hætten i hytten
kan ham hottentotten
og skotten fra Vrå
få hittehathatten
og hyttehætten på!

Af Halfdan Rasmussen

But I do not make an English version. Not because I won't - I'd love to - but because I can't. This is too speedy, funny, punny, and everything for me to even try.
A literal translation (annotated) is not above me, so you'll get this.

Finding hat-hut-hoods.
My nightcap doesn't suit me. (suit - using a word that's also hat-meaning maybe I should have used cap)
Lotte can have the calotte.
The cap for the huntsman (third word for hat ;) )
to use in the night
if the cadet in the cowl
doesn't want it,
and if I find the hat
and the hood in the hut
the Hottentot
and the Scotsman from Vrå
can have the found cap-hat (hidden hood hat is sound-similar to the line in Danish)
and the hut-hood!

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I am grateful for all comments, and try to reply meaningfully to all of them.