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Re:Why Stanislaw Lem’s futurism deserves attention (2015) by ttctciyf on Sunday April 22, 2018 @06:27PM (#16899004)
Regards translating the Cyberiad, the famous scene where Klapaucius tests Trurl's AI poetry machine has been translated by Michael Kandel:

   “Have it compose a poem — a poem about a haircut!
   But lofty, noble, tragic, timeless, full of love,
   treachery, retribution, quiet heroism in the face
   of certain doom! Six lines, cleverly rhymed, and
   every word beginning with the letter S!!”

   “And why not throw in a full exposition of the
   general theory of nonlinear automata while you’re
   at it?” growled Trurl. “You can’t give it such
   idiotic — ”

   But he didn’t finish. A melodious voice filled the
   hall with the following:

     “Seduced, shaggy Samson snored.
     She scissored short. Sorely shorn,
     Soon shackled slave, Samson sighed,
     Silently scheming,
     Sightlessly seeking
     Some savage, spectacular suicide.”
... I don't know any Polish, but having found a more literal rendering of the original[1] it seems Kandel has not made it worse!

1: https://medium.com/@mwichary/seduced-shaggy-samson-snored-72...

Re:Why Stanislaw Lem’s futurism deserves attention (2015) by ajuc on Sunday April 22, 2018 @07:12PM (#16899225)
Kandel cheated a little by giving himself more interesting task, but in the end it's even better than the original. More universal and emotional, when original was just funny.
Re:Why Stanislaw Lem’s futurism deserves attention (2015) by gbhn on Sunday April 22, 2018 @07:06PM (#16899201)
I've enjoyed this translation many times, and wondered how difficult a job it must have been to adequately do this translation!
Re:Why Stanislaw Lem’s futurism deserves attention (2015) by Finnucane on Monday April 23, 2018 @11:16AM (#16904127)
I once asked Michael how he translated the list of imaginary things beginning with 'N' destroyed by Trurl's machine in the process of making 'nothing.'

His answer: 'I made it up.'