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.)
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Today is the 106th 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 last year, publish one of the eight rhymes for children that was censored from the latest collection - and will continue to do so for his next six 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 versification of the poems, as my less than perfect English poetry 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.
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. Last year's poem will be updated in the same way.
And just in case you do not read the comments I want to insert Elephant's Child's wise connet 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. Jeg begyndte med nummer 1 sidste år, og fortsætter med nummer 2 i år. All the censored verses and from where they come. I began with number one last year, and will just tacle then one at a time.
- 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)
To små negerdukker
To små søde negerdukker Two cute little Negro dolls
gik i byen efter sukker, Went to town to buy some sugar
men da de var splitternøgne But as they were stark naked
gjorde godtfolk store øjne. Goodly people were gawping.
På et torv med flotte huse In a square with pretty houses
Købte de sig hver en bluse each of them bought a blouse
For at prøve på at dække trying to cover up
Det som var så kønt hos begge. what was pretty in both of them.
Bluser er så tit så korte. Blouses are often very short
Og skønt numserne var sorte and even though the bums were black
stirred folk så uanstændigt people stared without decency
at det føltes næsten skændigt. it was almost shameful
To små søde negerdukker Two cute little Negro dolls
skyndte sig at købe sukker, hurried up and bought the sugar
og hos frøken Tummelumsen and at Mrs. Tummelumsen's*
fik de sko og skørt om numsen. they got shoes and a shirt around their bums.
Tøj er varmt og sko kan klemme, Clothes are hot, and shoes can pinch,
så da de igen var hjemme when they reached their home again
smed de tøjet over stolen they threw their clothes upon a chair
og løb nøgne ud i solen. and ran naked into the sun.
* Name from a book (Livsens Ondskab by Gustav Wied). The name sounds funny and like Mrs. Dizzy
I mourn that I cannot read his work in the original.
SvarSletAnd how true it is - clothes and people's expectations frequently do chafe. And itch.
You at least understood his message. Through language barriers and my clumsy translation you've done better than the Danish editors!
SletIt always makes me sad to know that the good intentions of people from past generations are so misunderstood. They deserve to be read in the context of their time, not ours.
SvarSletSo true. People who can't see beyond the tip of their own nose are worse than stupid.
Slet