Over the years I have entertained several times the idea to publish 'Dolphin Address' as a book, mostly to ease my financial deadlocks. This bears no fruit as you can make need into virtue, but next wring it for inspiration is contrary to the principles of creation. Need must be subordinate. The spirit is to drive itself and free from earthly perturbation transport the reader to one of the most sublime orgasms granted to the human soul, the understanding of your own thoughts.
And there is so much material, I count 290 editions of Dolphin Address, plus all stories and specials, hundreds of photos and dozens of videos. In 2007 I composed an anthology. That constituted some order, like a series of freeze-frames. The order in time gives a certain overview, but by content they are wind-brushed and mackerel skyscapes, a brief overcast maybe, but in between a happy sun smiles. A clear line is lacking, would even have been interfering in the variation of attention inspired by Dusty's behaviour.
Therefore ''Dolphin Address’, the book' is going to be rewritten from a number of specific angles, like water, sculpture, development of the waterwing, of my own views and theories and of course lots of dolphin.
It seems like it is twice as much work, but I want to hone my wording on English as well as German. From 2003 on I translate into English. Until the beginning of 2006 Verena Schwalm took care of the German translations. My command of the German language is far from adequate, so that saw the unhappy end of the German version. However, the majority of the German visitors understand sufficient English.
Not only did the rock/opera singer Nina Hagen unlock the beauty of the German language for me in the eighties, the to-and-fro translating also brings an extra surplus value. There are a lot more similarities between German and Dutch than between English and Dutch.
But I'm not interested in the similarities, but in the differences, because not seldom therein lies the impetus for enriching a text. Compared to Dutch, German has more purisms. This also goes for English. Like 'television' stems from Latin, in German it's 'Fernsehen'. It means the same, 'to see far', but it's in their own language. In the Dutch version of this Dolphin Address you can find some more examples, but to literally understand them you need to understand Dutch.
About this language exchange and to illustrate the specific information that lies dormant, the following quotes:
Dolphin Address 9 2005
'As I write in Dutch as well as in English I often let both languages interact with each other. Sometimes I simply write in one until I get stuck and continue in the other. Sometimes an idiomatic construction in one suggests an answer for a wording in the other and sometimes I look up a lost word via the dictionary of the other. This can flash considerably to-and-fro, in which my Thesaurus gives great service.'
Dolphin Address, nr. 23 in 2008:
'Once I have drawn up a text I can let English and Dutch interact. This can work in wonderful ways. For example I translate a Dutch formulation into English, if necessary with the help of a dictionary. Then I look up the English wording in my thesaurus and next translate a more accurate synonym back into Dutch. It works as well for the other way around as sometimes I first write a text in English. It is like playing ping-pong with a lingo-ball.'
Thus I can quote fragments as an illustration, but I can also rewrite them:
'When speaking English here, I also think in English, except when I get stuck for a word. Then I have to describe it and English and Dutch flash through my head in a mix. In this a Dutch word or concept evokes an English equivalent. This is powered by spontaneous association.
Like in sculpting I first 'aboutisise' a profile and from there correct and refine it, so I do this mostly also when writing a Dolphin Address. First a spontaneous version, usually in Dutch, as there lies my richest vocabulary, then from there into English and that is the actual interaction process. There words and phrasings bounce until they embrace on an acceptable level of definition. Then I read the separate texts in their own tongue and organise them into their own communication modus. Therefore both versions are not necessarily each other’s literal translation but rather have their own touch of identity.'
Since the new Dolphin Address is flagged on the home page I purposely give them titles that are not each other’s translations to kindle curiosity in the Dutch visitors, to stimulate their capture of English and to bruit abroad my love for the English language. Anyone who wants to learn Dutch the other way around should first have his head examined.
Translation into English as well as into German makes 'die Feineinstellung', 'de fijnstemming', so the fine-tuning runs over three disks, which allows the resulting versions to be articulated even more effectively.
Thus far about the 'Dolphin Address, the book' project. The regular Dolphin Address will continue unperturbed and every now and then there will be updates about 'the book' and salient passages to further the attention. No idea how much time this is going to take, but as a deadline December 2012 seems appropriate.