Adaption as Self-Representation: The Anthology of Influences in Eavan Boland’s The War Horse, Collected Poems and New Collected Poems

Abstract

In The War Horse, Eavan Boland began to hone the distinctive perspective which would define her place in the history of Irish letters. The book is divided into three sections, the second of which consists entirely of translations. Turning to these, both Boland’s choice of poems to translate and practice as a translator are examined. In three cases, Boland so significantly alters the original poems that the term adaptation or transcreation is more precise. At a moment when the poet sought to break with the mainline of Irish poetic tradition, both the adapted and translated works can be viewed as integral to The War Horse, providing a foundation for Boland’s subsequent poetic evolution. In a subsequent version of Boland’s Collected Poems, the volume is reorganized so as to somewhat de-emphasize these pieces, yet two additional translations inserted in Against Love Poetrycontinue to highlight key facets of Boland’s mature poetic stance.