Feb 21 Response- Gisele Sanchez

Having Susan Harris and Chad Post was really exciting since I am really interested in pursuing publication myself. Especially after last week's readings on how little translated literature is published in the US, it was interesting to hear their perspectives on working within a small industry. I did, however, disagree with some of the things they said regarding the translations themselves. They mentioned that the original shouldn't take precedence over the translation, and I can't imagine how that would be contributing to their goal of sharing global literature with the English-speaking world. Why shouldn't the original speak for itself and represent its originating language even in translation? It seemed that their perspectives as publishers were very different from that of translators themselves who more often than not make conscious attempts to avoid domesticating a piece of literature beyond recognition. Additionally, after speaking to Susan Harris about the process of editing for Words Without Borders, she explained that while checking the accuracy of translations is done sometimes—it isn't a necessary step in the WWB editing process. This I found a bit strange because translated literature no doubt requires an entirely different editing process from literature written in English, and neglecting to at least make an attempt to preserve the original text's nuances and cadences, as Ken Liu put it, would be a disservice to the original work. 

In relation to the reading, the speaker's perspectives contradicted Huda J. Fakhreddine's claim that translation should include: 

"The effort to imagine roots for the translated poem in its target language will result in layered, textures translations that make meaningful connections and pave the way for a vibrant conversation between languages and cultures in their wake." 

I found her description of the translation process very beautiful. If Arabic must be accessible to the English-speaking world to be considered as aesthetically and historically important as other medieval literature, then the process of translation should be an exchange. I also liked that she acknowledges that while translations can never be perfect, the mere attempt to create an honest depiction of the original culture and language is enough to make something meaningful.