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Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers

italianpoetry.it

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Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers

#1

Post by ItalianPoetry »

It's hard to appreciate poetry in a language one doesn't know, so this is my attempt to make Italian poetry more easily enjoyable to English speakers. The approach is probably a bit nerdy, so I hope that at least it will be of interest on HN.

I basically implemented what I would like to have when I listen to songs or poems in a language I don't speak: karaoke-like, word by word, literal translation, with notes about word usage and some context when needed.

And some stuff about the language itself --- the part needed for the poems, at least.

The tech stack is as minimal as it gets: I was hoping for an old web vibe.

Feedback welcome!

Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers
italianpoetry.it

Re: Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers

#3

Post by ItalianPoetry »

camillomiller wrote: post #2

Very cool project. Any specific reason for the choice of poems?

Thanks!

I'd say a mix of

1. What I like,

2. Lesser-known stuff, not just the usual classics

3. A wider range of topics besides the usual love stuff, including the occasional obscenities

4. Sampling across the centuries

5. Try to showcase female authors, which you rarely study at school, but I was happy to find there's plenty of to choose from, and not only in modern times

I plan to add one per week, and requests are welcome

(edit, formatting)

Re: Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers

#6

Post by simonebrunozzi »

This is absolutely fantastic. I am Italian, worked abroad for ~15 years in English speaking countries and companies, and I've always been frustrated by my inability to convey some of the greatest poems of Italian literature to my English-speaking friends.

This project of yours is brilliant.

Small pieces of feedback I have:

- allow for a quicker way to change playback speed - instead of clicking the "points", and then "playback speed", and then change the speed, make 3-4 instant buttons available (0,5x, 0,75x, 1x, 1,5x).

- if there's a youtube video of the specific poem being narrated by people like Gassman, Proietti, etc, a video added at the bottom of the page might be great. e.g. Gassman legge Pavese: "Verrà la morte e avrà i tuoi occhi" [0]

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny3qXRIC9YQ&list=PLfk7A2f8wT...

Re: Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers

#7

Post by ItalianPoetry »

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #6

This is absolutely fantastic. I am Italian, worked abroad for ~15 years in English speaking countries and companies, and I've always been frustrated by my inability to convey some of the greatest poems of Italian literature to my English-speaking friends. This project of yours is brilliant. Small pieces of feedback I have: - allow for a quicker way to change playback speed - instead of clicking the "points", and then…

Thank for the suggestions!

My voice is terrible, so I'll definitely follow your latter point.

I hadn't even thought about playback speed, especially since those are all pretty quick, but I'll think about it for sure.

Re: Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers

#9

Post by izietto »

ItalianPoetry wrote: post #7
simonebrunozzi wrote: post #6

This is absolutely fantastic. I am Italian, worked abroad for ~15 years in English speaking countries and companies, and I've always been frustrated by my inability to convey some of the greatest poems of Italian literature to my English-speaking friends. This project of yours is brilliant. Small pieces of feedback I have: - allow for a quicker way to change playback speed - instead of clicking the "points", and then…

Thank for the suggestions! My voice is terrible, so I'll definitely follow your latter point. I hadn't even thought about playback speed, especially since those are all pretty quick, but I'll think about it for sure.

Your voice is not terrible, I enjoyed it quit a lot. By the way kudos to you, I'm Italian and that was interesting for me too! I'd love to have it in other languages too. Oh, and also I love the website vibes! The right mix between 2000 websites and contemporary elegance!

Re: Show HN: "Interactive" Italian Poetry for English Speakers

#10

Post by ItalianPoetry »

izietto wrote: post #9
ItalianPoetry wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank for the suggestions! My voice is terrible, so I'll definitely follow your latter point. I hadn't even thought about playback speed, especially since those are all pretty quick, but I'll think about it for sure.

Your voice is not terrible, I enjoyed it quit a lot. By the way kudos to you, I'm Italian and that was interesting for me too! I'd love to have it in other languages too. Oh, and also I love the website vibes! The right mix between 2000 websites and contemporary elegance!

I was actually thinking of doing the same for Latin...

Now the infrastructure is built, so the effort should be much smaller (but I'd need of course much more support from an expert ^^ ).

Do you think it might have an audience?

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