Review by Tom Kappel (email)

JE NE REGRETTE RIEN: Poèmes nouveux et retrouvés by Robert Dunn Oyster River Press 36 Oyster River Road Durham, NH 03824 ISBN: 978-1-882291-03-8 14pp., $6.00 www.oysterriverpress.com

"Je Ne Regrette Rien," besides being a famous Edith Piaf song, seems to tell us that the poet regrets nothing with this chapbook, its new and rediscovered poems, and, most probably, his life.  It also applies to me regarding this little 14-page chapbook. I have no regrets in reading and reviewing this book as I found the poet, his poems, and his mental processes extremely interesting.
 
For example, inside the book are three small poems that each have been translated into French, German, and Spanish with one additional poem in German by Christian Morgenstern translated into English. Translating poems is extremely difficult, trying to keep the beat, tone, meaning, and many other aspects as the poet created them. I stand in awe of those who can translate poems well. Even though I'm not fluent in any of the three languages, I found reading these other language poems aloud an interesting learning experience.  I also tried, as an experiment, testing some of the free language translation web sites and software available on the Internet.  There is a long way to go before poetry can be translated by software, if ever, but it is an interesting way to see how the poems were translated into the different languages. 
 
Finally, my favorite poem in the book isTrees Communicate. It's small and poignant with a dash of humor:

Trees Communicate
 
Trees communicate
(if they do)
by listening.
 
just as humans
communicate (if they do)
by talking.
If you have any news,
tell it to a forest.

Je Ne Regrette Rien is an inexpensive book and an enjoyable read. Support the poet and buy the book, it's a fun purchase to have for your collection.

 

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Tom Kappel is an Arizona based freelance writer.  His articles and short fiction have appeared in over 20 publications including, The Best of FaithWriter’s, The Redbridge Review, Emporium Gazette, Psychic Quest, Albuquerque Monthly, Land of Enchantment Romance Writer’s Guide (LERA), and many others.