Wiersze dla niegrzecznych dzieci. Danuta Wawiłow i angielskie nursery rhymes (przekłady, inspiracje)

Abstract

Among numerous books of poetry for children written by Danuta Wawiłow – famous XXth century Polish poet and writer – one book is special: Poems for Naughty Children [Wiersze dla niegrzecznych dzieci] published in 1987. The book is unique not only because of the poetical qualities it represents – rhythmicity, melodiousness, catchiness, melancholy and lyricism equally with pure nonsense, absurdity, grotesque, (black) humour and numerous equivoques and puns, which are characteristic for Wawiłow’s poetical works; above all else Poems for Naughty Children is a collection of translations of the traditional English nursery rhymes, made by Danuta Wawiłow, who claimed more than once that she was a translator long before she had become a writer. The article aims to explore Wawiłow’s translation work which (up to now) remains almost unknown and un-described in Polish theoretical discourse. Moreover, the author presents the outcome of her research conducted to find “missing originals” of translated nursery rhymes, offers the classification of them and undertakes critical reflection over translation strategy adopted by Danuta Wawiłow.