The poet's voice

This chapter presents the poet’s voice in a way that it is accessible to English speakers. I put this selective grouping (about half of her poems) here as a chapter in itself for two reasons. The first is that Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār’s poetry falls at the beginning of the interpretive arc that has sought to understand and define the poet over the past 1,400 years. The second is my belief that it is important for the reader to have an opportunity to consider her poetry prior to my detailed analysis, including ways in which the methodological issues I discussed in the first chapter play out. In this translation, I have tried for a prose with poetic qualities. It is generally, though not universally, accepted that poetry should be translated by prose in order to avoid forcing either of the languages; thus G. U. Pope’s rhyming, versified translation of a major work by Tamil poet-saint Māṇikkavācakar into English provides an example of the few strengths and many weaknesses of translating poetry into poetry. ¹ However, my translation of Kāraikkāl Ammaiyār’s poetry demanded that I engage principles that can generally characterize poetry, such as an economy of word and a resonance of image. One can compare my translation of her poetry to my translation of her biographer’s tale (which is also in verse in Tamil) to understand my approach to the poetry. I have tried also for facility of comprehension in English, and evocation in the sense of “calling out” the meanings of the Tamil poem. ²