Why do people like Thomas Kinsella's - Tain bo Cuailgne

[Nuadu]

Im liking the new book section so I thought Id give it a go with a less incendiary topic then we've had about books recently.

The Tain by Thomas Kinsella is my favourite version of the cattle raid of cooley but, to me, it seem's a strange one to be popular in the climate of 'Celtic Paganism' today. Its not a literal translation and people are all about accuracy nowadays.

If you do like Kinsella's version, why do you put it above other versions?

[orangeconey]

While I have not read Kinsella's Tain, I have read a new translation by Ciaran Carson (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0140455302/ref=sib_rdr_dp). In my personal opinion, I'd rather have a readable, engaging version than a literal translation that loses the spirit of the original telling for the sake of pure accuracy.
While I can read stuffy academia, that doesn't mean I want to. :toofless:
I could be wrong, but to me Irish stories are all in the retelling. *shrug* I'd be a terrible reconstructionist...

[Nuadu]

While I have not read Kinsella's Tain, I have read a new translation by Ciaran Carson (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0140455302/ref=sib_rdr_dp). In my personal opinion, I'd rather have a readable, engaging version than a literal translation that loses the spirit of the original telling for the sake of pure accuracy.
While I can read stuffy academia, that doesn't mean I want to. :toofless:
I could be wrong, but to me Irish stories are all in the retelling. *shrug* I'd be a terrible reconstructionist...

Actually now that you mention it Ive seen that version on the shelves but I thought it was just a new version of Thomas Kinsella's translation. It'd be good to get an interpretation from the north and with a unionist name like Carson doing the translation it could be very unique.

I agree with you about literal translations, I like Thomas Kinsella's Tain because he is an accomplished poet in Irish and English so he was able to use his cultivated skill/art to convey the meaning of the original stories into a second language. Thats the real art of a translator IMO, and when I want to view it in the original context I can anyway on the University College Cork site.

Im really looking forward to getting that native take on the Tain from a Carson now though, Thanks!!

[skilly-nilly]

I didn't know about Ciaran Carson's translation either but now it's on my list and I'm getting Shamrock Tea for good measure. He's a poet too, Nuadu, from Belfast.

I like Kinsella's translation because it has the 'befores' (I can't think of the Irish for that)-- Cú's life and the Quarrel of the Pig-Keepers and how the bulls got there, etc. A big part of the meaning (for me) of the Táin is the inevitability-- once Cú decides for a short heroic life it's all a cascade.

[Seren_]

It's not literal, but it's accessible - I think that says a lot for it. Plus the fact, more recent works often take a while to filter through into the mainstream from academia.

In spite of its drawbacks (it's effectively a mishmash of several versions, for one) it's a good read and it holds to the spirit of the story (or method of storytelling). Kinsella made it clear why he chose to compile the tale in the way that he did, and while the wording itself may leave a lot to be desired, he made the effort to show where he's taken liberties in the translation in favour of helping the story flow for a modern audience (using different idioms, for example). At certain points, at least.

[Nuadu]

I definately wouldnt argue that definition of his version Seren. It is one of the more famous ones and he is absolutely open about the nature of the 'translation'.

That said Recons liking Thomas Kinsella as much as they do is strange to me. Its in a lot of Recon recommended reading lists. Wouldnt a recon, for the purposes of religious study, be aware of the UCC translations and go for them instead?