DARK CRANES, FLYING TOWARDS YOU

foreword of the book "I am Coming to you" by G Mend-Ooyo



The blue lake of dreams. You couldn't paint such a blue. On the banks of the lake, a few dark cranes. There's a woman with the cranes. You couldn't paint such a woman, but you also couldn't look directly upon her, her eyes are bright, her gaze hidden. In my sixteen year old's dream, the curtain of fate rises, this woman has come into the world, together with the cranes. The dream-woman would take my hand and lead me. The dark cranes were her vehicle. They are beyond the folds of white clouds in the dark blue sky, she says. You are my husband, she says, let us fly away.

It's as though my father, in his worn blue deel, on his brown horse, is calling out to me, "Don't go!" It's like my mother is raising and offering to the sky the cream of the milk. The dark blue hills on the steppe have sad faces, it’s as though they are being pulled along. I stand, unmoving. The woman walks away, without turning gently to look over the waters of the lake, her voice calls out, I never heard the melody she sang. As the flock of cranes passed by overhead, she melded with them, and was gone.

I awoke from my dream and all day I felt sad. I went about, fully aware that it had been a dream. I enjoyed the growing thought of how the dark cranes of my desires were soaring there, of what they were doing off beyond those white hills. From that time, I became obsessed with poetry.

I cast my gaze around and see a woman, emerging from the dark mirages on the steppe with a white camel, but it is not her. I cast my eye about, I do not want to traverse so many tens of thousands on the city streets.

But she is only a woman in a dream. The years flash past and I have reached the same age as the dream woman, again the years move on and she is now my younger sister,

In my youth, I had many desires. To discover the unusual beauty in all that is usual in the world...to create myself as a body pure and bright...to write the most perfectly beautiful poem...to make bright and shining books...to ride in flight upon magic words of poetry into a person's heart...and, far out beyond my desires, there stood a blue peak to which I couldn't even fly. This was the "you" at whom I was aiming. In this way, I have been coming towards you.

I wrote this poem, called "I am coming to you," in a large group of tents beneath a starry sky, one night, swimming in a deep sleep. At that moment, as I gazed at the peaks of the great hills, overcome by the feeling that the dark cranes were flying beyond those lofty, white mountains, the poem took birth. They came to me, the child of nomads, raised as the dark cranes of the saltmarshes had been raised, they came to the bright pages of my notebook, these dark cranes of desire, so many of them, flying in complex filigree.

My dear friend in literature, the translator N.Enhbayar, was invited with me to attend a conference for young Asian and African writers in the Indian capital of New Delhi. It was 1987. He had translated my poem, "I am coming to you," into English, and distributed copies of it to our contemporaries. I was fortunate, three years later, when it was accepted for publication. The gods deigned that it should end up being published on the front page of the German literary magazine of the moment, GATE. Thus the gate to the world outside was opened for my work through the publication of this translation, and now it turns out that it has been translated into some thirty languages around the world. The dark cranes, reciting the translations of "I am coming to you" are crossing the five continents and the four great oceans and touching the hearts of readers and scholars in these countries, and the beginning of all of this was that dream which I had dreamt when I was sixteen.

These words are coming now, flying through the dark sky of cranes.

Five years ago, a letter came from the United States, from a meditation center, in the hand of the poet, athlete, meditator and composer Sri Chinmoy. He had read Enhbayar's translation of "I am coming to you," he wrote, "You are in search of the true quality of love, for the sound of eternity. You have discovered this truth, and not simply as a poet.” Two years later, he quoted my poem in a lecture, and described me as “a wise and influential poet.” Who would not be excited by such words? My poem has drawn similarly positive words from many other poets.

A poem is a living world given form through language. In the reading, publishing and writing of poetry, there is a vigorous increase in the discovery of magical and poetic qualities. I believe that, in the reading of these thirty published translations of my poem “I am coming to you,” the magic will exert an ever-stronger charge.

In the autumn, then, the cranes congregate on the banks of the saltmarsh lake. And when they do this, it’s like they’re performing lama dances for cranes. The nomads on the steppe call this place Crane Lake. Before going off on a long journey, they come together to get their young used to the flock, and to empower their wings for flight. Then they fly home, these lines of cranes, away into the blue sky. And then in spring they come in lines, flying back.

I speak in my poetry of the destiny of these nomadic birds. And then I see the poem-cranes, who have come together in these thirty translations to perform their lama dances, collected from across the wide world within the covers of a single book, I see them off in their lines of flapping wings.

This is the flight of the dark cranes, they are moving towards you.

G.Mend-Ooyo
31 October 2010

“I am coming to you” poem in 30 languages

UNESCO announced that every year the March 21^st would be the World Poetry Day which is being celebrated for the 12^th time by Mongolian poets. This year a poetry and calligraphy exhibition called “Mother Earth” is being held for the occasion. Also, as part of the occasion and exhibition, an opening ceremony of a book which is a collection of 30 different translations of the poem “I am coming to you” by Mongolian poet Mend-Ooyo will be held at 15:30, on March 23^rd at the Mongolian National Modern Art gallery, the same place of the exhibition.

Various foreign language translations of the poem will be recited during the opening ceremony which will be attended by many cultural and literary figures of Mongolia.

Also on this special day, a message from the General-Director of UNESCO will be announced to the public.

"Mother Earth"

- Praise-poems for the ancestors
- The flowering of Mongolian calligraphy from Mother Earth
- The union of nature and language arts
- Poetry heard in pictures, pictures growing from poetry
- What can an artists do to save Mother Earth?

Thirty years ago, the poet G.Mend-Ooyo wrote a poem called "Mother Earth," for which the composer R.Enhbazar wrote music. Performed by the snger B.Badaruugan, this work connected with people's hearts, expressing the meaning of taking care of Mother Earth.

During the period of political change, human civilisation has sought progress on the one hand, and has laid waste on the other hand to the treasures of the earth, has thus been losing the ecological battle, and is now approaching the edge of extinction.

In such times, the ideas behind this poem "Mother Earth" are all the more valuable, they bring a connection between the human heart and Mother Earth, and they make us think about how we are all children to the same mother.
Global warming, the melting of the polar ice, sunned flash-floods, tidal waves, droughts, earthquakes, the destruction of wild banimals and beneficial trees and plants, and desertification all proceed from human error, and all are connected with the loss of the natural system by which the earth offers its riches without prejudice.

We must, then, consider the question as to how artists, living in today's world, might protect Mother Earth.
The poet G.Mend-Ooyo and the artist D.Battümör have developed an exhibition the written word, "Mother Earth" which directly addresses this theme. Their visual and poetic artworks express a unitedattitude towards the preservation of the earth and the natural world.

Another aspect of this exhibition is that, in addition to looking into the future, and by seeing in a clearer way the rich and valuable heritage which humans have chosen to abandon throughout their history, we can think about the importance and value of such things today.

"Mother Earth" will include calligraphic versions of some eighty of Mend-Ooyo's poems.
G.Mend-Ooyo's poetic work is joined with imags in brush and ink of the artist D.Battümör, revealing the new sensibilities of calligraphic and figurative art. The exhibition will also present the new traditions of Mongol calligraphy and language art.
The artistic work which comes from our heart are the plants of wisdom growing in our Mother Earth. People step upon the earth, they drink water and take nutrients from Mother earth through the plants, and so take in the riches. The two artists say that, with the work in this exhibition, they contribute the light of their hearts, they repay the kindness of Mother Earth.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR THE EXHIBITION "MOTHER EARTH"
March 18 2011 11:40 Opening of the exhibition "Mother Earth".
March 18-24 2011 9:00-17:00 Exhibition open to the public.
March 19 2011 15:30 Poetry reading
March 21 2011 15:30 Launch of the book I Am Coming to You, which presents this poem of Mend-Ooyo's in thirty languages.

MOTHER EARTH

An Exhibition of Calligraphy
March 18-23, 2011
Mongolian National Modern Art Gallery
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia


On March 18th, the exhibition "Mother Earth" will open at the Mongolian National Modern Art gallery. Thirty years ago, the poet G.Mend-Ooyo wrote a poem called "Mother Earth," for which the composer R.Enhbazar wrote music. Performed by the snger B.Badaruugan, this work connected with people's hearts, expressing the meaning of taking care of Mother earth.
In this exhibition, G.Mend-Ooyo and the artist D.Battümör combine their work, and ask us to care for nature, our Mother Earth, through poetry and image. It has become a tradition that, every year works are exhibited from the collection of the Mongolian Academy of Culture and Poetry and thus year, apart from Mend-Ooyo's own pieces, there are also pieces, based upon Mend-Ooyo's poems, by the influential contemporary artist D.Battümör, in addition to some eighty of Mend-Ooyo's calligraphic manuscripts.
In addition to looking into the future, we are also drawn to consider the valuable objets of wisdom in the history of humanity, its lost cultural heritage, and the importance of acknowledgeing its value.
In this exhibition we will see how Mend-Ooyo's poetry, combined with Battümör's talent for calligraphic ink and brushwork, reveals a new direction for the art of images and words, and a contemporary approach to calligraphy and the tradition of Mongol language arts.
The artistic work which comes from our heart are the plants of wisdom growing in our Mother Earth. People step upon the earth, they drink water and take nutrients from Mother Earth through the plants, and so take in the riches. The two artists say that, with the work in this exhibition, they contribute the light of their hearts, they repay the kindness of Mother Earth.

МОНГОЛЫН УРАН ЗОХИОЛЫН ЦАХИМ НОМЫН САН УДАХГҮЙ НЭЭГДЭНЭ

Цахим ертөнц өнөөдөр дэлхий дахины соёлын хэрэглээг бүрнээ тодорхойлж, XXI зууны зохиолч уншигчийг холбох хядгааргүй боломжийг бидэнд олгож буй билээ.
Соёл Яруу Найргийн Монголын Академи үндэснийхээ утга зохиол, оюун соёлын үнэт зүйлсийг улам өргөн цар хүрээтэй түгээн дэлгэрүүлэх зорилгоор www.muzo.mn цахим номын санг байгуулж, ирэх Дэлхийн яруу найргийн өдрөөр нээлтээ хийхээр ажиллаж байгаа аж.
Энэхүү цахим номын сан нь монголын эртний болон орчин үеийн яруу найраг, хүүрнэл зохиол, шүүмж судлал, хүүхдийн уран зохиол, орчуулгын шилдэг бүтээл зэрэг төрөл зүйлийг багтаасан хязгааргүй хуудастай томоохон номын сан байх бөгөөд монголын эрт эдүгээгийн бүтээлтэй нэгэн дороос хамгийн шуурхай танилцах орон зай ба хурдыг уншигчдад олгож буйгаараа онцлог юм.
Энэхүү цахим номын сан нь англи, монгол хоёр хэл дээр ашиглах боломжтой бөгөөд манай дэлхийн өнцөг булан бүрд зочлон очиж уншигчидтайгаа уулзаж, уран бүтээлээ толилуулах боломжийг олгох энэхүү төслийг Соросын Сангийн соёл урлагийн бүсийн хөтөлбөр, Монголын Урлагийн зөвлөл дэмжиж байгаа ажээ. .
Шинэ эриний хурд хийгээд боломж улам бүр өсөн нэмэгдсээр байгаа эдүгээ цаг үетэйгээ хөл нийлүүлэн алхаж, мэдээллийн зууны уншигч олондоо уран бүтээлээ хүргэхийн тулд эрч хүчтэй ажиллах шинэ боломжийг Монголын зохиолчдоо олгож байгаа нь монголын соёлын амьдралын нэгэн содон мэдээ болж байна.

Шинэ оны мэнд дэвшүүлье!

...Юм бүхэн таны тулд найрсан оршихын учир
Юу санаснаа амжиж бүтээ гэж он цаг нисэн ирнэм.
Өгөх насаа тээж ирээд, өнгөрч элснийг буцааж аваад
Өглөг хишиг эдлүүлж хүртээснээ эргүүлж шалаад
Эдүгээ хэний үйлс үнэн болоод үлэмжийн тустайг
Эрин зуунуудад дамжуулан гэрчлэхээр он цаг нисч одном.

Он цаг нисэн нисэн ирнэм.
Он цаг нисэн нисэн одном.

Шинэ оны мэнд дэвшүүлье!

Г.Мэнд-Ооёо

Happy New Year!

.
...The moon's rays ask the way of sunlight,
Customs are assumed, then age and wither away.
The world's at peace because of what you've got, and
As you follow your dreams, the time goes flying, flying by.
You take the life you're given and the sands keep running through,
A constant round of joys and destinies and gifts.
Throughout a hundred aeons, bearing witness now
To honest labor and compassion, the time flies by and is gone.

The time goes flying, flying by,
The time is gone, is gone.

G Mend-Ooyo






.

American Poetry book published in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ambassador Jonathon Addleton is giving address to the audience, including poets, translator and readers.











Translator B Magsarjav is giving interview to public TVs.











Translator D Byambaa is giving speech about his translation Tamerlane by Allan Po.















Today,

We celebrated the publication of the first volume of Anthology of American Poetry. The event was held at the American Cultural Center. Organized by USA Embassy and Academy of Culture and Poetry. Here is presenting the publisher's foreword of the book.

Mongolian poet G Mend-Ooyo, editor of this book, mentioned that Mongolian readers deep gratitude to Ex-Ambassador Mark Minton, Public Affairs Officer Marissa Maurer , Yo Otgon and all the US Embassy employees who helped us in all levels of the publication process.

written by Mugi

PUBLISHER’S FOREWORD

The first translation into Mongolian of American literature in the modern era was made in 1930 by the founder of our own modern literature, D. Natsagdorj. He translated, albeit from an initial German translation, Edgar Allen Poe’s story, “The Gold Bug.”
Although the history of American literature in Mongolia has been relatively brief, its impact has been great. Starting in the 1960s, my teacher, the famous poet and translator Dorjiin Gombojav, translated Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” from the Russian as a kind of reference manual for Mongolian poets. At the same time, G. Luvsantseren translated Robert Frost’s poem, “Birches”. In respect to Native American culture and history, D. Sandagdorj made a translation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s lyric poem “Song of Hiawatha,” which was also published during the 1960s. This was the period during which the flowers of American literature began to grow in Mongolian soil even as these translations were made not from the original English language, but Russian.
However, when the free spirit of American poetry encountered the closed attitudes of Mongolian socialist ideology, a period of stagnation set in as precious few translations were made from the original English. With the openness of the 1990s, however, there was an enthusiasm for studying English which led to an increasing number of original translations of American literature.
Many years have passed since the idea of putting together a large anthology to illustrate the contemporary influence of American literature. Three years ago, I discussed my idea with Mark Minton, US Ambassador to Mongolia and poet, and it was this discussion which opened the door to our book. However, to select and translate from the various styles and forms of American poetry through the ages was no small task.
We worked with many of our American friends in order to properly select the works to be translated only to realize that when our work was finished, not everything was ready. Only after we had negotiated translation rights, could the work be published. The US Embassy schooled us in the importance of protecting the intellectual rights of the poets presented here which has aided Mongolia in the development of our own system of copyright laws.
With the exception of “Song of Myself,” by the great voice of American democracy and freedom, Walt Whitman, this is the first time that these poems have been translated into Mongolian from the original English. This work reflects the great effort of G. Dombojav, B. Maksarjav, D. Byambaa, Sh. Tsog and M. Shagdarsüren as well as our young transltors Ts. Oyuundari, S. Sumiya, O. Mönhnaran, S. Soyolbold and G. Delgermaa.
Support for this book has come from the US State Department and the US Embassy in Mongolia. It is clear that the economic and political relations between our two countries have expanded through this cultural, literary and intellectual venture. I am deeply grateful to Ambassador Mark Minton, to the poet David Lehman, to Marissa Maurer of the US Embassy, and to Yo Otgon, who have valiantly labored to create this book of American poetry.
Amerikiin Yaruu Nairag then, American Poetry, this book of parallel texts, is one way in which young people might improve their English, but it is also an avenue to satisfy those interested in savoring literary translation. Moreover, it offers us the chance to refine the infelicities of translation and we await future works of translation from our readers after they have investigated, discussed and absorbed the intricacies of American literature.
There are many sides to poetic translation. Translators have individual approaches to the craft. Some are strict with meter and language while others express what has been absorbed into their hearts. Nonetheless, I trust that the world of American poetry will welcome this eighth volume in the Mongolian Academy of Poetry and Culture’s series, World Poetry.

May goodness spread and may the virtue of books increase!

G Mend-Ooyo
15 June 2010

АМЕРИКИЙН ЯРУУ НАЙРАГ МОНГОЛД

“Дэлхийн Шилдэг яруу найраг” цувралыг 2005 оноос Соёл Яруу Найргийн Академиас яруу найрагт дуртай уншигчдадаа зориулсан эрхлэн гаргаж эхэлсэн билээ. Уг цувралаар “Эртний сайхан – Монголын шилдэг яруу найраг”, “Оросын яруу найраг”, “Японы яруу найраг”, “Францын яруу найраг”, “Төв Азийн яруу найраг”, “Испани хэлт яруу найраг”, “Энэтхэгийн яруу найраг”, номуудыг эрхлэн гаргаад байгаа бөгөөд “Америкийн яруу найраг” ном нь уг цувралын 8-р боть болж байгаа юм.

“Америкийн яруу найраг” номыг Америкийн Төрийн Департмент, АНУ-аас Монгол Улсад суугаа Элчин Сайдын Яамнаас ивээн тэтгэж, Соёл Яруу Найргийн Академиас эрхлэн монгол, англи хоёр хэлээр хамт хэвлэжээ.

Уг антологид Уолт Уитмен, Эдгар Аллан По, Эмили Дикинсон, Хэнри Уодсуорт Лонгфелло , Стипин Крэйн, Роберт Фрост, Жэймис Лэнгстон Хьюс, Аллин Гинзберг, Кеннит Кох, Билли Коллинз, Дэвид Лиймэн, Шэрмин Алексий нарын зэрэг Америкийн үе үеийн алдартай яруу найрагчдын шүлэг дуулалыг багтаасан бөгөөд манай нэрт орчуулагч Доржийн Гомбожавын алдарт орчуулга Уолт Уитмений “Энэ биеэ дуулна” найраглал болон Б.Магсаржав, Д.Бямбаа, Ш.Цог, М.Шагдарсүрэн нар болон Ц.Оюундарь, С.Сумъяа, О.Мөнхнаран, С.Соёлболд, Г.Дэлгэрмаа нарын залуу орчуулагчидын дандаа шинэ орчуулгын шинэ бүтээлүүд багтсанаараа онцлогтой. Энэхүү ном нь Америкийн эрт эдүгээгийн яруу найргийн үнэт зүйлс, чиг хандлага, ур чадварын олон талыг илэрхийлж байгаагаараа онцлог бөгөөд шүлгүүдийг орчуулж хэвлэх эрхийг Америкийн оюуны өмчийн хууль журмын дагуу авсан байна.

Сонирхуулахад Америкийн уран зохиолоос эдүгээ цаг үед хамгийн анх шинэ үеийн уран зохиолыг үндэслэгч Д.Нацагдорж герман хэлнээс 1930-аад онд орчуулсан юм. Тэр бол Эдгар Аллан Погийн “Алтан цох” хэмээх романтик өгүүллэг юм байна.