NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW

An independent small press poetry review

NHI independent review
Albatross
Radu Patrichi
Tulcei Street
no.3 Bl.S, esc.A, Floor 8, ap.36
Code 900434
Constantza
Romania
ISSN 1221-4841
Subscriptions: 2 issues $20 [€17]
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This page last updated: 14th December 2007. 		Albatros 2005-6 #2/1 (5-6) Autumn/Winter

This is literally a heavyweight magazine, having almost 200 pages. I wish I could read Romanian. This issue contains a fair amount of haiku but is overloaded with articles on haiku, etc. Most of the content has been translated into English — wherein lies the problem. A high percentage of the translations fail to do justice to the poetry (or the articles, if you have the energy to wade through them). There is also a tendency for a few of the haiku to be aphorismic.

This is not to say that all the works fail to hit their targets: the following (among quite a few) score bull's eyes —

		morning tea.
	a few droplets of dew
	on the rose-leaves

	Vasile Moldovan

		Hailstorm —
		the stone Buddha
		smiles
		
		Dietmar Tauchner

	twilight on the lake —
	face to face
	two white cranes
	
	Laura Vacianu
The New Zealand poet, Cyril Childs has, of course, no problem with his English — a fine work:
	mountain summit —
		a white-clad priest
			releases his prayers
I particularly liked Angelee Deodhar's haiku in which she shows the winter evening as catalyst for a particular moment:
	winter evening
	the beggar's breath joins
	smoke from the fire
And Jean Jorgensen's haiku where she uses that winter catalyst more specifically:
	blowing snow
	young hooker's face softened
	by the street lamp's glow
In this section all the poems are good (having been conceived in English).

In order for ALBATROS to be fully appreciated by English speaking readers it needs to improve the quality of its translations — difficult, I know — but essential.

reviewer: Michael Bangerter.