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.
-- 🎂 --
Today is the 105th 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 publish one of the eight rhymes for children that was censored from the latest collection - and will continue to do so for the next seven 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.
There won't be an English translation. For two reasons:
- First and most important. My less than perfect English translations made 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.
- Second and with regrets I censor myself (but only in English - please feel free to use Google translate). I do not want to offend any thin-skinned and senstitive (American) readers of this blog. I've had far too many not so nice comments and experiences already in 2020, and I don't want any more.
-- 🎂 --
En liste over alle de bortcensurerede vers og hvor de er udgivet. Jeg begynder med nummer 1.
All the censored verses and from which book they originally came. I'll just begin with number one.
- Lille negerdukke (Børnerim) (2020)
- Hittehattehættehuer (Børnerim)
- Rikke (Børnerim)
- Negerdukken lille Sam (Børnerim)
- Sikken et hus (Børnerim)
- To små negerdukker (Børnerim)
- Nogle øjne er så smukke (Halfdans rim)
- Alle bilerne fra landet (Halfdans rim)
Lille negerdukke Little Negro doll
sover i min seng is sleeping in my bed
sammen med en dejlig together with a lovely
gul kineserdreng. yellow Chinese boy
Jeg har sunget mine I've sung both of my
kære børn til ro, dear children off to sleep
klappet dem på kinden, Patted their small cheeks,
kysset begge to. given both a kiss
Vi er een familie. We are one family,
Børn af samme jord. children of the same earth
Sov, min sorte søster! Sleep, my black sister!
Sov, min gule bror! Sleep, my yellow brother!
-- 🎂 --
I bogen er der en charmerende tegning af en lille pige, der sover sammen med sine dukker. Ikke helt korrekt ifølge teksten, men den er altså sød. Undskyld den ringe billedkvalitet af scanningen her.
-- 🎂 --
In the book there's a charming illustration of a little girl sleeping with her dolls. Not quite according to the text, but sweet anyway. I'm sorry about the poor quality of this scan.
I have learned yet again a new word - demonym. And when I looked it up, I also learned ethnonym. Thank you for those. And thank you for writing about this poet, who clearly valued humans of every ethnicity. I, too, am sorry that this was censored. As you said, it could have been included with a note to show that it was respectful in its word usage for that time period.
SvarSletDon't let the internet trolls get you down, Charlotte.
I do love this poem. And long for the day is reflects the norm. Thank you so much for shining a light on him for my ignorant self.
SvarSletThank you both for the support. It means a lot to me to know that I am not alone with my opinions. And I'm not going to let any old troll chase me away.
SvarSletSuch censorship makes me angry. Mark Twain used such language as it was simply common then, and he was no bigot.
SvarSletThe Google translation of the poem may or may not be totally accurate, but it conveys the warmth of feeling the author had for all people, at least to me.
Thank you. When everybody and her granny loudly opposes you, you begin to doubt your own opinions. Thanks for helping me recalibrate.
Slet