03/25 Reading Responses -- Lachlan Bowden

 Reading about the discussion surrounding the Amanda Gorman and Marieke Lucas Rijneveld translation was really interesting. Specifically how the Guardian article differed from the New Yorker. A difference that I noticed, and kept thinking about, was how the Guardian explicitly said it was Gorman’s choice to have Rijneveld as the translator: “Meulenhoff said it was Rijneveld’s decision to resign, and that Gorman, who is 22, had selected the 29-year-old herself, as a fellow young writer who had also come to fame early.” Whereas the New Yorker maintained that this decision was somewhat unclear and surrounded Gorman’s agent company, Writers’ House. I wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret this, or where the Guardian got this information from. Because we are dealing with intellectual property, I do feel like a hefty portion of the decision hinges on this. Regardless, the points raised about the scarcity of Black translators in the community indicates that more opportunities should be afforded to the community. I’m looking forward to discussing in class how the comparison of writer to translator identity impacts the process, and the insight and quality of the translation. Further, Sindya Bhanoo’s article was fascinating, reading about the discourse surrounding the translation Facebook page, set up by Aron Aji, highlighted just how contentious this topic is within the translation world. I think what Achy Obejas said about “there [being] no question that a translator’s identity has an impact on the translation”, made total sense. And if those arguing for merit based translation, for the most skillful translator to take the wheel, then would the lack of understanding of the writer’s struggle/ plight/ experience not hinder this? I’m not entirely sure, looking forward to hearing peoples’ thoughts. 

The other article by Gitanjali Patel and Nariman Youssef was really engaging and beautifully composed. Hearing the personal experiences and ways in which non-white translators must navigate the industry is important. As many industries tethered to the academic realm, the movement to decolonise our attitudes and outlooks seems to be gruelingly slow. This is why articles such as this one, hearing the experiences of these writers and translators, is so valuable.