Visions, Breaths and Sighs

IntroductionIn the summer of 2012, Paola Cannas, by then in her 80s, invited her son, Marco Vichi, to dine with her. At that meeting, she asked him if he would read two of the poems that she had written. She wanted to know if they were any good, and whether or not he liked them. As he read them he was moved to tears by their beauty, simplicity, honesty and goodness, and he felt sad that he had not known his mother in this way before. He subsequently collected together all her poems, some written on scraps of paper, others in old jotters, all of them scattered in drawers and boxes around her home.Marco , a well-established author, wanted to be certain that his mother's poems were valued in their own right - 'walking on their own legs' as he said. He identified a possible publisher in Pisa - Felici Editore - but did not at first reveal that the poems had been written by his mother. He received a very quick response to say that the poems would be published. Respiri e Sospiri - 'The little big book', as it became known in Italy - was received with tumultuous applause across the country. When Marco told his mother that the poems were to be published, she said, 'I only wanted to see if you liked them. Do you mean they liked them too?' Shortly before she died, Paola was interviewed by the Florence newspaper Corriere Fiorentina.These beautiful poems were written at various stages throughout Paola's life. Using freeform verse, she draws the reader into each situation and experience with some of the clarity, depth of vision and gentle affection with which she was gifted. These poems speak for themselves. Paola Cannas was born in Lucca in 1928, and lived all her married life in Florence (Tuscany). She died in her beloved Tuscany on 17 March 2013. She had very deep feeling for Sardinia - the land of her forebears.* * * * *I translated these poems almost immediately after reading them. I had been so moved by them that I wanted my wife and friends to be able to read them, too. Paola's dying wish was that any possible proceeds from publication of her poems should go to charity. Her son, Marco, nominated Il Filo di Juta (The Jute Thread), which, based in Florence, builds schools in Bangladesh. In 2014, a school to teach literacy to the children of Bangladesh was renamed 'The Paola Cannas School'.Having read the translated poems, Augur Press wanted to make them available to the English-speaking world.Bernard Wade, translator, Dublin, Ireland and Lucca, Tuscany, April 2015. * * * * *When we received the first sample of the translated versions of Paola Cannas' poems, we knew immediately that this material carried a depth of focus that is rare. And we knew that the poems had been translated by someone who loved and really felt and experienced them in both their original language and its translation. Meaning can be lost in the process of translation, but in this case, the poetry has retained the original vital message - sometimes gentle, sometimes forceful, always powerful, filled with truth and spiritual wisdom. Mirabelle Maslin, Augur Press, April 2015.