“Write it Out in Your Own Form”: Tom Paulin’s Translation of European Poetry

Abstract

The contemporary poet Tom Paulin attempts to communicate a new perspective on modern-day Northern Ireland through the lens of foreign literary traditions. He chooses translation as a means to give voice to his political views. Seizing upon the differences and similarities of Northern Ireland and various European countries, he sets out to subvert the traditional interpretations of the Northern Irish conflict. This article focuses on Paulin’s translation of poems by Anna Akhmatova, Paul Verlaine and Heinrich Heine and explores the different ways in which the poet transplants the Russian, French and German originals into a new cultural context.