The Calligraphy Wall
A more long-term project I had been working on — a piece of calligraphy in a bunch of different languages, and then putting them on my wall. While no longer on the wall, I’ll still keep doing some calligraphy.
The calligraphy wall in January of 2023:
There is a large variety in styles, and a large variation in the quality of the calligraphy. I think you can definitely see how I’ve learned to handle a pen better, and which ones came out better or worse than others.
I’ve tried to put them below in chronological order of when I did them, with the newest first.
Bulgarian
This is taken from the Bulgarian folk song Kaval Sviri, which has gained a sort of internet fame through its more dissonant harmonies, and I was introduced to it through this video by Adam Neely, which takes from this original. I have written it in a style called vyaz or vięzati, which was used for mainly liturgical purposes but also saw secular use. If you kindly ignore the inky fingerprints and blotches, I think it turned out quite well. The lyrics are taken from Wikipedia.
Bulgarian (cyrillic)
Кавал свири мамо
Горе доле мамо
Под селото
Bulgarian (latin)
Kaval sviri mamo
Gore dole mamo
Pod seloto
English
A kaval* is playing, mother
Up, down, mother
Near the village
*Traditional flute
Aramaic
This is an Aramaic proverb, which I have found here. The actual verse spans multiple pages. I have absolutely confused some bēṯs with some kāp̄s or the reverse, and for that I apologize. The calligraphy is done in Serto, or Western Aramaic, while the text below is Estrangela.
Aramaic
ܐܰܝܟ ܡܷܫܚܳܐ ܘܒܷܣܵܡܷܐ
ܕܰܡܚܼܿܕܶܝܢ ܠܠܒܐܳ܈
ܗܳܒܰܢܰܐ ܗܘ ܡܰܢ ܕܰܡܒܼܿܣܷܡ
ܠܚܰܒܪܷܗ ܒܡܷܠܒܐܳ
ܕܢܰܦܫܷܗ
English
As ointment and spices
that rejoice the heart,
so is he who delighteth
his neighbour with the counsel
of his soul
Noongar
This is a Noongar whaling song performed by Nebinyan and can be found here (Bracknell, 2014, p. 11). Some glosses are given there, but not a complete translation, so there are some elements missing in the translation below.
Noongar
Gabboroo goombara
Karrai in na jeerrunga
Goomba warrin, goomba warrin
Jeerunga goomba warrin
Goomba warrin
English
Big water
[?] going north
Great seas, great seas
Going north great seas
Great seas
Navajo
This is an excerpt of Little Herder in Autumn by Ann Nolan Clark (1940, p. 59). I have used the first paragraph of the poem called Autumn, or ‘aak’eed. I did this in a Beneventan Lombardic style, and I’m not sure how well it turned out, but it does resemble some contemporary manuscripts
Navajo
K’ad ‘aak’eed náhásdlį́į́.
Ch’il t’áá ałtso nihá
Háánot’ą́
‘i’niihai biniinaa
English
Now that autumn is here,
The flowers and the plants
Give themselves to us
For winter will not need them.
Faroese
This is the chorus of the Faroese version of Auld Lang Syne, Hvør skuldi gamlar gøtur gloymt, lyrics to which can be found here. The capitals are done in a bastarda style. The English translation is my own.
Faroese
Fyri mangan góðan dag, ið var
Drekk nú eitt glas við mær.
Vit tøma eina vinaskál
Og minnast tíð, ið var.
English
For the many good days that were
Drink now a glass with me.
We’ll down a friendly toast
And remember times that were.
Latvian
This is taken from a Latvian folk song, whose lyrics can be found here. I have started to like a taller, cramped cursive for using a pointed nib pen, and here I experimented more with flourishes.
Latvian
Viegli gāju pār ūdeni, līgo, līgo
Kā spārnota gaigaliņa, līgo
Zelta niedri zinādama, līgo, līgo
Viņa krasta galiņāi, līgo
English
Lightly I walked over the water of the lake, sway, sway
Like a light-winged bird, sway
I knew a golden reed, sway, sway
To be on their side of the lake, sway
Cherokee
This text is a small song about cherries, taken from this YouTube video. The cursive script in Cherokee is markedly different from the printed forms.
Cherokee (syllabary)
ᎩᏔᏯ ᎤᏅᏂᏒᎢ
ᏦᏍᏓ ᎩᏔᏯ ᎠᎭᏂ
ᏧᎬᏩᎶᏗ ᎡᎳᏗ
ᎦᎪ ᏙᏓᏳᏩᏏ
Cherokee (latin)
gitaya unvnsvi
tsosda gitaya ahani
tsugvwahldi eladi
gago dodayuhwasi
English
ripe cherries
here are good cherries
the price is low
who will buy them?
Ojibwe/Anishinaabemowin
This text is the Fish Song, taken from this site, and thanks the fish for their role in the food chain and ecosystem.
Ojibwe
Maashkinoozheg, Kinoozheg,
Ganebigomegoog, Nameg,
Maada’ookiiying ziibi
Ezhi-maashkoziyeg
Maada’oozhiyaang
Gimiigwechwigo gii bagidenindizoyan
English
Muskies, Pikes,
Eels, Sturgeons,
We share the river
The way you survive
You share with us
Thank you for the sacrifice of yourself
Inuktitut
This is “You Are My Sunshine”, taken from this video on Twitter, which I transliterated into syllabics. I spent a while trying to come up with forms for syllabics that could be written easily with a pointed nib, and this is the result. There are a few (more than one!) transcription errors here.
Inuktitut (latin)
Siqinituanguna
Siqinituattiaq
Quviasutsiji
Silalukpat
Qaujimangittuq
Nagligijara
Siqiniq Asuittailigit
Inuktitut (syllabics)
ᓯᕿᓂᑐᐊᖑᓇ
ᓯᕿᓂᑐᐊᑦᑎᐊᖅ
ᖁᕕᐊᓱᑦᓯᔨ
ᓯᓚᓗᒃᐸᑦ
ᖃᐅᔨᒪᖏᑦᑐᖅ
ᓇᒡᓕᒋᔭᕋ
ᓯᕿᓂᖅ ᐊᓱᐃᑦᑫᓕᒋᑦ
English
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You’ll never know, dear
How much I love you
So please don’t take my sunshine away
Mi’kmaw
This text is one I have written in cooperation with elders, as an exercise in my study of Mi’kmaw. Many thanks to Gordon Francis and Ivan Augustine for their help in translation.
Mi’kmaw
Metukuna’q.
Oqwatk, petna’sɨk, a’petnasɨk.
Maqatkwik.
Maqtawe’k sisip metewintoq
— aqq poqjise’skwet.
Kawatkw paqasiet…
Jensi wejkwapaneta’q.
English
It is a stormy day.
There is a wind from the north, it’s a cold wind, it’s gusty.
The seas are rough.
A black bird is chirping
— and begins to holler.
A spruce tree falls into the water…
Before you know it, the sky begins to clear again.
German
This text is one by Eduard Mörike, which can be found here, along with an alternate English translation of my own.
German
Im Nebel ruhet noch die Welt,
Noch träumen Wald und Wiesen:
Bald siehst du,
wenn der Schleier fällt,
Den blauen Himmel unverstellt,
Herbstkräftig die gedämpfte Welt
In warmem Golde fließen.
English
The world still sleeps in fog,
the forests and meadows are still dreaming:
Soon you will see,
when the veil falls,
the clear blue sky,
the tender world, with autumn’s strength,
flowing with the warmth of gold.
Scottish Gaelic
Full credit for this poem goes to Jone MacCulloch. It should also be bleideag, not bleidag as I have written.
Scottish Gaelic
Cuibhlichean carbad
A h-uile bleidag mheirge
Sgeulachd
English
Wagon wheels
Every rust fleck
A story
Northern Sámi
This short poem in Northern Sámi is taken from here. I have translated the English from the provided Norwegian translation.
Northern Sámi
Boldos
Guovssahas
Namat
Eret
Sleđgus
Degovisot
Silkevulppot
Maid maŋŋà dovet
English
Let the aurorae
emblazon
your name
Be it
erased,
fluttering
like all the silk shirts
you’ve ever known
Swedish
This is a lyric from Dum by Bolaget, and once again the translation is more metaphorical, or a loose interpretation of the original Swedish.
Swedish
Nu dem kallar mig för dum
Varje gång jag är full
Men jag har aldrig tappat synen
Eller ramlat omkull
English
Now they all call me crazy
For having fun
But I’ve never lost myself
Or lost my footing
Irish Gaelic
This poem is a famous one by Brian Merriman. Very idyllic, and I have found a different translation for this passage, but I can’t remember where.
Irish Gaelic
Bá ghnáth mé ag siúl le ciumhais na habhann
Ar bháinseach úr ‘s an drucht go trom,
In aice na gcoillte, i gcoim an tslé’
Gan mhairg, gan mhoill, ar shoilse an lae.
English
Beside the water I often walk
Through fields where the dew is as thick as chalk;
With the woods and mountains just in sight
I hang around for the dawn to light.
English
This is a lyric from Dana Sipos’ song Greenbelt, and I thought it fit the general theme of all the poems very well.
English
It’s a hand-me-down tale,
embroidered with time.
Norwegian (bokmål)
This is a lyric from Lillestrøm by brenn., and the translation I’ve given in English is less than literal. I hope you can see, though, how much better this attempt at pointed nib calligraphy is than the previous one in Polish.
Norwegian (bokmål)
Du er for mye
for nære
English
Don’t push
your luck
Polish
This is Beach Sandals by Anna Świrszczyńska, which can be found here. This is another one that I felt suited the theme of the wall very nicely.
Polish
Wypłynęłam z siebie.
Nie wołaj mnie.
Wypłyn też z siebie.
Popłyniemy zostawiając na brzegu
dwa nasze ciała,
jak dwie pary sandałów.
English
I swam away from myself.
Do not call me.
Swim away from yourself, too.
We will swim away, leaving our bodies
on the shore
like a pair of beach sandals.
Icelandic
This is a verse (36) from Hávamál, in this case taken from Pálsson’s Icelandic version. The English translation is adapted from my translation of the Nynorsk version to better fit the Icelandic.
Icelandic
Bú er betra,
þótt lítið sé.
Halur er heima hver.
Þótt tvær geitur eigi
og taugreftan sal,
það er þó betra en bæn.
English
To have any house is better (than none),
though it may be small.
A home is to each their own.
If you own two goats
and a good roof over your head,
then that is better than nothing.
French
This is one of my own composition, so both the French and English parts are my own. In the photo, envelloppent should be enveloppent. I made a mistake in writing it.
French
L’étreinte de la nuit est une étrange chaleur,
son corps tissé de soie hivernale.
Avec quelle douceur elle baigne la terre à son clair
pour que les lacs dans la paume de sa main dansent.
Pour que le pré chante un chuchotement dans sa brise
et une légion d’étoiles ouvrent les yeux en saluant.
Pour une moment elle reste, attendant que
le jour se retourne et embrase le ciel.
Que la nuit reste, reste un instant de plus,
que ses bras m’enveloppent, que je sois emporté.
English
The night’s embrace is a strange kind of warmth,
her body woven from wintry silk.
How sweetly she bathes the land in moonlight
so the lakes dance in the palm of her hand.
So long grass sings a sultry song in her breeze
and a legion of stars open their eyes in greeting.
For a while she wanders, waiting for the day
to turn over and set the sky alight.
I long for the night to stay, for just a little longer,
for her arms to envelop me, and be swept away.
Arabic
Unfortunately I could only find this short text in the form of another image, so I don’t know where it came from. This was my first composition in the riq’a style.
Arabic
رجا دات شتاء بين و مطر سناتقي
English
Perhaps with winter, between clouds and rain, we will meet
Norwegian (nynorsk)
This is a poem by Einar Økland, and can be found here. I have slightly adapted it, and the English translation is entirely my own.
Norwegian (nynorsk)
Å vere ein gråstein
ingen har sett —
ikkje trengje bli svolten
ikkje trengje bli mett.
Kunne vere åleine
og tole alt.
Ikkje ynskje seg noko,
varmt eller kaldt.
Det er det beste,
det ynskjer eg meg.
Synd det skal vere,
skal vere so vanskeleg.
English
To be a little pebble
without delineation —
no need for hunger
no need for satiation.
To be alone
and bear the whole.
To not want for anything,
neither warm nor cold.
That is the best thing
for which I find myself pining.
A shame it ought be,
it ought be so tiring.