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In Translation: Translators on Their Work and What It Means
The last decade has seen significant growth in the study of literary translation, including the MLA's increased readiness to set standards for evaluating translations.
With this anthology, editors Bernofsky (Foreign Words: Translator-Authors in the Age of Goethe) and Allen (translator and editor of The Selected Writings of Jose Marti) hope to educate current and prospective translators to see their work as "a particularly complex ethical position" rather than a "'problematic necessity.'"
The book is divided between theory and practice, though all essays focus on the experience of translators. The 18 translators included--among them Eliot Weinberger (translator of Bei Dao, Jorge Luis Borges, and Octavio Paz), David Bellos (Georges Perec), and Haruki Murakami (whose afterword to his Japanese translation of The Great Gatsby is itself translated into English reprinted here)-- offer memorable anecdotes. Maureen Freely describes the "intense and volatile exchanges" with Orhan Pamuk that followed her first translation of the author's work; Jose Manuel Prieto explains the historical context, phrase by phrase, that made Osip Mandelstam's "Epigram Against Stalin" into "the sixteen lines of a death sentence. - Publisher's Weekly
With this anthology, editors Bernofsky (Foreign Words: Translator-Authors in the Age of Goethe) and Allen (translator and editor of The Selected Writings of Jose Marti) hope to educate current and prospective translators to see their work as "a particularly complex ethical position" rather than a "'problematic necessity.'"
The book is divided between theory and practice, though all essays focus on the experience of translators. The 18 translators included--among them Eliot Weinberger (translator of Bei Dao, Jorge Luis Borges, and Octavio Paz), David Bellos (Georges Perec), and Haruki Murakami (whose afterword to his Japanese translation of The Great Gatsby is itself translated into English reprinted here)-- offer memorable anecdotes. Maureen Freely describes the "intense and volatile exchanges" with Orhan Pamuk that followed her first translation of the author's work; Jose Manuel Prieto explains the historical context, phrase by phrase, that made Osip Mandelstam's "Epigram Against Stalin" into "the sixteen lines of a death sentence. - Publisher's Weekly
288 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
10 people are currently reading
317 people want to read
About the author
Esther Allen
39 books15 followersWords are more than their definitions, and language is more than information, as translators know well.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 21, 2016
…Если переводчика все же «прислонить в тихом месте к теплой стенке» и заставить разговаривать, он/а в лучшем случае примется раздувать сложность своих творческих/технических задач, довольно рутинных, накачивать в свою работу дополнительной ценности в глазах обывателя, так сказать (как это недавно произошло с одной известной птичкой), в худшем — раздувать щеки и преувеличивать собственные личные заслуги. Удержаться на грани пристойного переводчику отчего-то, как правило, довольно трудно — может, дело в комплексах недооцененности, а может, потому, что весь экшн в этой работе внутри, не станешь же снимать кино про то, «как ботаны пялятся в мониторы» (с).
В этом сборнике участникам, по большей части все удалось (ну, за исключением пары совсем уже клинических представителей цеха). Тексты внятны, люди занятны. Хотя многие «проблемы», с которыми они сталкиваются, давно решены (нами, как минимум), а «задачи» представляются довольно-таки подлежащими решению (вплоть до того, что сами под эти решения ложатся). Иногда буквально вплоть до «Марьванна, нам бы ваши трудности» (ах, как нам сохранять иностранность в тексте? ах, нам лучше курсив или кавычки? …ну ебвашумать, деточки). Все равно иногда приятно получать подтверждение верности каких-то своих переводческих решений и лишний раз убеждаться, что ты в мире не одинок.
Fun Fact With Books: а вы знали, что только с 1925 по 1969 г. «Грозовой перевал» во Франции переводился и издавался 20 (двадцать!) раз? Это к вопросу о «канонических», блядь, переводах.
В этом сборнике участникам, по большей части все удалось (ну, за исключением пары совсем уже клинических представителей цеха). Тексты внятны, люди занятны. Хотя многие «проблемы», с которыми они сталкиваются, давно решены (нами, как минимум), а «задачи» представляются довольно-таки подлежащими решению (вплоть до того, что сами под эти решения ложатся). Иногда буквально вплоть до «Марьванна, нам бы ваши трудности» (ах, как нам сохранять иностранность в тексте? ах, нам лучше курсив или кавычки? …ну ебвашумать, деточки). Все равно иногда приятно получать подтверждение верности каких-то своих переводческих решений и лишний раз убеждаться, что ты в мире не одинок.
Fun Fact With Books: а вы знали, что только с 1925 по 1969 г. «Грозовой перевал» во Франции переводился и издавался 20 (двадцать!) раз? Это к вопросу о «канонических», блядь, переводах.
November 12, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of essays! It's given me a much greater appreciation of and understanding of the work of translation, and is a good intro to the topic. The translators and their perspectives vary widely, which makes the book a good overview of different approaches to translation and difficulties that must be overcome. There's also a lot of scope for literary theory discussion.
November 30, 2013
This is an incredible collection, with some of the best translators of the time (Esther Allen, Susan Bernofsky, Clare Cavanagh, David Bellos and so on and on) writing about a variety of translation issues from a "practicing" (in comparison to academic) perspective. Definitely using a bunch of these essays in my class next spring . . .
February 16, 2014
Impressive collection of work by some of the English language's most gifted wordsmiths: literary translators. The collection works on so many levels, for those readers interested in how translators make the choices in how to translate particular words (the infinite refrain from the reader who's never tried), to those interested in the political ramifications of translation, to scholars who love wonky talks about archaic and medieval poetic forms and their best forms of translation, and of course, this book is best for students of translation, to guide them on the path towards a career in this most fraught of the interpretive arts. This book inspired me to get off my lazy ass and get to translating again, it is an inspiring and enlightening read alike, that reminded me why I care about translations enough to start my own translation press and why they MATTER so damn much, and reified my eternal love for that eternal mystic creature of the mind: the Translator.
June 26, 2013
An interesting read for those interested in literary translation. Extra points for Lawrence Venuti and his contrasting of the poems of 13th century monk 'Crazy Jim' Jacapone de Todi with Eminem.
September 22, 2013
Great collection of essays canvassing a wide variety of issues concerning translation, from politics to practice.
June 3, 2020
Out of affection for a few dazzling, eye-opening essays in this book I give it a 4, and not let some real snoozers drag it down to a 3 where it probably belongs.
Boy howdy can it be tedious and teeth-pulling. Some essays felt like there was required reading I missed out on (at times feeling more By Translators, For Translators). But the real problem? It's just so darn long. And repetitive. I can only bear the weight of translation publishing minutiae for so long before the joy is gone.
But when it doesn't get so bogged down by academia, it can be quite charming. What I want is how the sausage is made. I want triumphs of translating a single line of Shakespeare to German or the delightful quandary of translating a late Soviet poet into Spanish.
(Heck, one of the best essay, Haruki Murakami's essay on translating The Great Gatsby into Japanese, is barely about translating and more about how much he just loves that darn F. Scott Fitzgerald!)
Actually, while a trove of translating war stories, it's also a trove of authors and poets I need to read now. It's cute how most of the essays are not-so-discreet love letters from translators blabbing about their favorite authors. So in it's own little way, it continues translation's mission of bringing foreign works to a new audience in a unique medium.
Boy howdy can it be tedious and teeth-pulling. Some essays felt like there was required reading I missed out on (at times feeling more By Translators, For Translators). But the real problem? It's just so darn long. And repetitive. I can only bear the weight of translation publishing minutiae for so long before the joy is gone.
But when it doesn't get so bogged down by academia, it can be quite charming. What I want is how the sausage is made. I want triumphs of translating a single line of Shakespeare to German or the delightful quandary of translating a late Soviet poet into Spanish.
(Heck, one of the best essay, Haruki Murakami's essay on translating The Great Gatsby into Japanese, is barely about translating and more about how much he just loves that darn F. Scott Fitzgerald!)
Actually, while a trove of translating war stories, it's also a trove of authors and poets I need to read now. It's cute how most of the essays are not-so-discreet love letters from translators blabbing about their favorite authors. So in it's own little way, it continues translation's mission of bringing foreign works to a new audience in a unique medium.
I have a stove
similar to a triumphal arch!
They take away my stove
similar to a triumphal arch!!
Give me back my stove
similar to a triumphal arch!!!
They took it away
What remains is
a grey
naked
hole.
And this is enough for me;
grey naked hole
grey naked hole.
greynakedhole.
December 19, 2018
Actual rating: 3.5
I had to read this for my Literary Translation Workshop. Some of the essays were very entertaining and gave you a real window into the mind and process of a translator. Others possessed a language so academically verbose and hoity-toity that I found myself drifting into sleep as I read on. It's a good book to consume bit by bit.
I had to read this for my Literary Translation Workshop. Some of the essays were very entertaining and gave you a real window into the mind and process of a translator. Others possessed a language so academically verbose and hoity-toity that I found myself drifting into sleep as I read on. It's a good book to consume bit by bit.
December 17, 2022
Excellent anthology of nonfiction essays from some of the world's most renowned literary translators. Everything from translator invisibility to revision practices. Recommended for young translators looking to know more about process and practice.
September 25, 2023
I read this for my Studies in Translation course in the Fall of ‘23.
I liked this a lot. It provided extensive insight into the tightrope world of the translator. Every essay was impactful and memorable, with my favorite being “Translation and the Art of Revision” by Susan Bernofsky.
I liked this a lot. It provided extensive insight into the tightrope world of the translator. Every essay was impactful and memorable, with my favorite being “Translation and the Art of Revision” by Susan Bernofsky.
June 17, 2022
This is an amazing collection, so many of the essays are absolutely magnificent
Want to read
April 6, 2023to-read
Read
February 8, 2025Couldn’t do it
November 30, 2014
I've loved almost all of the translated work I've read and even those which aren't my favorite have been enjoyable for their novelty, so I was excited to pick up this anthology of essays by translators about their work. The first essay was a bit a of a let down though, too academic and abstract for my taste. Fortunately, very few essays in the collection had this flaw. Essay two, for example, provided immediate gratification with a discussion of the way translations are allowed to flout literary conventions, which resonated with me as one of my favorite features of the genre.
There were a few essays which I thought became too pedantic or talked about a text without sharing enough of the translation for me to follow. For the most part, though, the essays were easy to read but thought-provoking and raised issues I thought were relevant to me as a reader of translations. The middle portion of the book discussed an incredible range of issues translators can encounter which never occurred to me before. Some of the questions I found most interesting were whether translators should prioritize capturing the feel of the work they're translating or the exact meaning and how translators should handle words without exact matches in the language they're translating into. The essays at the end helped me understand what motivates translators. An essay by Murakami about translating The Great Gatsby was one of my favorites from this section.
Even there were a few essays in this collection which I didn't enjoy, the vast majority were both intellectually stimulating and fun reading. I think reading these essays will make me a better consumer of translated fiction, more aware of how translating works and which parts of the original are likely to be preserved through the translation process. I'm also going to try to do a better job giving translators a byline on my blog when I read translated work, because good translators are often overlooked. If you're someone who likes reading translated fiction or are interested in how languages differ from one another, I'd highly recommend this collection.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey.
There were a few essays which I thought became too pedantic or talked about a text without sharing enough of the translation for me to follow. For the most part, though, the essays were easy to read but thought-provoking and raised issues I thought were relevant to me as a reader of translations. The middle portion of the book discussed an incredible range of issues translators can encounter which never occurred to me before. Some of the questions I found most interesting were whether translators should prioritize capturing the feel of the work they're translating or the exact meaning and how translators should handle words without exact matches in the language they're translating into. The essays at the end helped me understand what motivates translators. An essay by Murakami about translating The Great Gatsby was one of my favorites from this section.
Even there were a few essays in this collection which I didn't enjoy, the vast majority were both intellectually stimulating and fun reading. I think reading these essays will make me a better consumer of translated fiction, more aware of how translating works and which parts of the original are likely to be preserved through the translation process. I'm also going to try to do a better job giving translators a byline on my blog when I read translated work, because good translators are often overlooked. If you're someone who likes reading translated fiction or are interested in how languages differ from one another, I'd highly recommend this collection.This review was originally posted on Doing Dewey.
May 5, 2014
«The translator must be a great editor, a psychologist, a judge of human taste; if not, his translation will be a nightmare. But why should a man with such rare qualities become a translator? Why shouldn't he be a writer himself, or be engaged in a business where diligent work and high intelligence are well paid? A good translator must be both a sage and a fool. And where do you get such strange combinations?»
Inspiradora veintena de ensayos a cargo de profesores, traductores y escritores que abarcan aspectos tan variopintos e interesantes de la profesión como la ética deontológica, la supuesta intraducibilidad de la poesía, los intersticios de la intertextualidad y la interculturalidad, la simbiosis con el autor o la necesidad de retraducir periódicamente los clásicos, por mencionar solo unos pocos. Todos profusamente documentados, rebosantes de erudición en algunos casos, muy teóricos en su mayoría, algunos netamente prácticos (Translation and the Art of Revision, de Susan Bernofsky, se basta y se sobra para justificar por sí solo la compra del libro); más que recomendable el conjunto, en cualquier caso, para profesionales de la traducción literaria y personas afines.
Inspiradora veintena de ensayos a cargo de profesores, traductores y escritores que abarcan aspectos tan variopintos e interesantes de la profesión como la ética deontológica, la supuesta intraducibilidad de la poesía, los intersticios de la intertextualidad y la interculturalidad, la simbiosis con el autor o la necesidad de retraducir periódicamente los clásicos, por mencionar solo unos pocos. Todos profusamente documentados, rebosantes de erudición en algunos casos, muy teóricos en su mayoría, algunos netamente prácticos (Translation and the Art of Revision, de Susan Bernofsky, se basta y se sobra para justificar por sí solo la compra del libro); más que recomendable el conjunto, en cualquier caso, para profesionales de la traducción literaria y personas afines.
January 21, 2014
I read this 'cause I was supposed to interview Susan Bernofsky for this thing but her publicist dropped the ball or something. I'm not really sure what happened. Doesn't matter now. Point is that this is a fucking awesome collection. I'm totally glad that the prospect of talking to one of my favorite translators lit a fire under my ass to actually plow through it super quick, 'cause it was more or less slated to stay on my mental 'to read' list all the way to the grave. If you have any interest at all in literature in translation, translation in the US, or just generally picking up a ton of cool info that will help you to sound really fucking smart and cultured, this is some good good.
*UPDATE*
I did the interview and it's here:
http://press-street.com/you-are-the-c...
*UPDATE*
I did the interview and it's here:
http://press-street.com/you-are-the-c...
June 2, 2015
After months of waiting, I finally received this book from the library. Though I'm only a couple of essays in, I am already in love with it. Such thoughtfulness and brilliance, with the humility characteristic of translators. I can't wait to dig more deeply into this book. A dream of mine is to one day teach a class on translation with this book as the text. Bravo to the authors and editors!
February 1, 2014
It is refreshing to see a work which meets at the point of intersection between theory and practice of translation. A great help for those who are new in the industry. A great check for those who have been there, done that. All in all, a good book worth every one's read.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews