in the club
"En el Club" from En el Hangar Vacío (In the Empty Hangar)
"Haber navegado con Conrad y Stevenson
y paseado por las terrazas de París
con Marcel Proust. Haber sido alumno
de Séneca y Plinio y en un lupanar
de Catulo y Marcial. Haber asistido
al encuentro entre Borges y Jünger
y conversado en Viena con Talleyrand.
Haber ido a la ópera con Stendhal
y conocido al duque de Saint-Simon.
Haber frecuentado ciertos salones
con Chamfort y La Rochefoucauld.
Haber comido con Kant y Montaigne
y tomado café con el cardenal de Retz.
Haber cazado mariposas con Nabokov,
viajado en berlina con Laurence Sterne
y bebido hasta altas horas de la noche
con Cyril Connolly, Anthony Powell
y Evelyn Waugh. La duda que tengo
es el coche: si el Chevrolet imaginario
de Pessoa, si el Cadillac de Scottie
o el radiante Bugatti del cónsul Morand.
El resto son miles de páginas escritas
por unos hombres que, sin saberlo,
me concedieron la más alta felicidad""To have sailed with Conrad and Stevenson
and ambled the boulevards of Paris
with Marcel Proust. To have been a pupil
of Seneca and Pliny and in a brothel
with Catullus and Marcial. To have attended
the meeting between Borges and Junger
and talked in Vienna with Talleyrand.
To have gone to the opera with Stendhal
and met the duke of Saint-Simon.
To have frequented certain salons
with Chamfort and La Rochefoucauld.
To have dined with Kant and Montaigne
and drank coffee with the cardinal of Retz.
To have hunted butterflies with Nabokov,
travelled in a steamer[(?) Carriage?] with Laurence Sterne
and drank till late at night
with Cyril Connolly, Anthony Powell
and Evelyn Waugh. My only doubt
is the car: whether it is the imaginary Chevrolet
of Pessoa, the Cadillac of Scottie
or the radiant Bugatti of the consul Morand.
The rest is miles of pages written
by some men who, unknowingly,
gave me the highest happiness."
- Many thanks to Daniel for the quote and reference.
- Many thanks to Pablo Cabezas for the corrections. (We are still looking for the appropriate translation for "berlina.")
- I've provided the rough English translation on the right -- anything underlined is badly in need of a better or more appropriate word. Any other corrections you might feel compelled to point out would also be very appreciated.
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