LM 2/4

  

When reading all the essays about Deborah Smith’s translation of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, I thought of Don Lee’s short story “The Partition” (also the title story of his collection). I read the short story a few years ago, but I think of it often. In the story, the main character is facing career consequences due to a translation controversy like Smith’s. I was delighted to find that the connection I made had basis, as discussed in this interview: https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/the-dirty-secret-of-rodgers-forge-and-other-inspirations-don-lee-talks-about-his-new-story-collection/

I thought Yun’s comparison: “imagine the plain, contemporary style of Raymond Carver being garnished with the elaborate diction of Charles Dickens” was helpful, conceptually with understanding the conflict and the question posed: “If the translation modified the original this much, can Korean literature even claim any of the glory?” was an interesting one to ponder. Parks’ “Raw and Cooked” further complicated my understanding of the issue in bringing in the relationship between content and style and the challenges in reconstructing that relationship. In Smith’s article, she points out the unique challenges of translation as an art form: “It’s… perhaps the only art that can be not just bad, but wrong, and will never not be flawed.” I thought her reflections on the feminization of the profession were especially profound (and relatable, coming from social work). In Yoon’s article, I was struck by the assertion that Smith’s translation “resists the oppressive patriarchal logic at the heart of translation’s myth of fidelity like the radical politics of the heroine’s vegetarianism.” With all this in mind, it can be overwhelming to approach translation, but there is something freeing about Smith’s assertion that any translation (maybe like anything at all?) will always be flawed.

I found the Petrarch prefaces an abrupt shift from so many articles about The Vegetarian, but I love David Young’s reflection on his “friendship” with Petrarch. I love thinking of translation as a relational art, and it's a useful framework for approaching a fairly overwhelming task.