{"id":2222,"date":"2013-10-02T09:30:22","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T01:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2222"},"modified":"2013-10-01T10:19:35","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T02:19:35","slug":"2222","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2222","title":{"rendered":"To Foreword or Not to Foreword?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Simit\"<\/a>In “To foreword or not to foreword?<\/a>” Turkish – French translator Canan Marasligil and Chinese – English translator Nicky Harman discuss how the translator does, should, and shouldn’t frame the translation for the reader. Here’s an excerpt from Harman’s contribution:<\/p>\n

Let me illustrate with a further question: Why do teachers consider it necessary to explain the role of the fool in Shakespeare\u2019s King Lear<\/em>? Because the modern meaning of the word doesn\u2019t communicate the dramatic and social importance of the role. Granted, the reader will get some idea by the time they\u2019ve finished the play. But why expect them to run barefoot through King Lear<\/em> when we could give them a pair of running shoes, by way of an introductory note? \u00a0Fundamentally, I think that expecting the reader to appreciate a book without understanding the context in which the writer was writing and, even more importantly, what he or she was trying to do, is to do the writer an injustice. This is especially true when readers are unlikely to know much about a history and a culture far removed from their own experience. For example, in a collection of Hong Kong stories I translated recently, by the writer Dorothy Tse, I felt it was very important to explain her surrealism by quoting her own words: \u201cContrary to mainland literature that tried to borrow languages from the working class as well as the farmers in the 50s as a way to reach the public, Hong Kong\u2019s literature has a tradition of resistance to the language of daily life. Its highly experimental language is a strategy to distinguish a literary work from an entertaining and commercial one. In Hong Kong, writing itself is an active rejection of utilitarian society and mundane everyday life.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click the image above for the dialogue in full.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In “To foreword or not to foreword?” Turkish – French translator Canan Marasligil and Chinese – English translator Nicky Harman discuss how the translator does, should, and shouldn’t frame the translation for the reader. Here’s an excerpt from Harman’s contribution: … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3,16],"tags":[1227,1226,399],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s8srwF-2222","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1108,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=1108","url_meta":{"origin":2222,"position":0},"title":"Bringing Chinese Poetry to the UK","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"August 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mjpLC6VSLGI from the Literary Translation Centre at the London Book Fair in April Chair David Constantine, Modern Poetry in Translation Speakers Nicky Harman, Translator W N Herbert, Newcastle University Brian Holton, Lecturer and Translator Yang Lian \u6768\u70bc, Poet","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/mjpLC6VSLGI\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3211,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3211","url_meta":{"origin":2222,"position":1},"title":"Nicky Harman featured in China Daily","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"June 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"China Daily Europe has a feature on literary translation from Chinese to English, focusing in particular on Nicky Harman, translator of poet Han Dong \u97e9\u4e1c and others. Harman, who specializes in fiction, nonfiction and poetry, began learning Chinese in 1968 and previously taught translation at Imperial College London. \"At the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/europe.chinadaily.com.cn\/epaper\/images\/attachement\/jpg\/site241\/20150522\/f04da2db112216c8c8412c.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3498,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3498","url_meta":{"origin":2222,"position":2},"title":"Eberlein on Han Dong in English","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"May 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Xujun Eberlein in LARB looks at Han Dong \u97e9\u4e1c in English and asks, \"Is There a Good Way to Translate Chinese Poetry?\" Her answer is clearly yes. She asks, \"why would I want to read a translation that has departed from the original? Wouldn\u2019t I be better off reading original\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lareviewofbooks-org.scdn3.secure.raxcdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/handong-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2556,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2556","url_meta":{"origin":2222,"position":3},"title":"Nicky Harman Interviews Han Dong","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Peony Moon has published an interview with Han Dong \u97e9\u4e1c as conducted by his translator Nicky Harman. Here's a teaser: NH: You famously said that, \u201cpoetry does not go beyond language\u201d (\u201c\u8bd7\u5230\u8bed\u8a00\u4e3a\u6b62\u201c). Do you still believe that? If not, what do you think are the most important principles of poetry?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/peonymoon.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/10\/han-dong-london-april2009.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":768,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=768","url_meta":{"origin":2222,"position":4},"title":"New Issue of Cerise Press","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"March 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The Spring 2012 issue of Cerise Press is now online, with new work by Cole Swensen, interviews with Chinese translator Nicky Harman and Tibetan-Chinese writer Woeser \u0f5a\u0f7a\u0f0b\u0f62\u0f72\u0f44\u0f0b\u0f60\u0f7c\u0f51\u0f0b\u0f5f\u0f7a\u0f62\u0f0b \/ \u552f\u8272, and an essay by Chloe Garcia Roberts on her translations of the poetry of late Tang poet Li Shangyin \u674e\u5546\u96b1. Also\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cerise Press Vol. 3 Issue 9 Cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cerisepress.com\/images\/issue9\/issue9cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cerisepress.com\/images\/issue9\/issue9cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cerisepress.com\/images\/issue9\/issue9cover.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":191,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=191","url_meta":{"origin":2222,"position":5},"title":"My Life as a Translator","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"October 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For all of us who were unable to attend the event at the British Centre for Literary Translation, here's a video part of its proceedings. My favorite part was the description Nicky Harman--whose translations of poetry by Han Dong \u97e9\u4e1c are forthcoming from Zephyr Press as A Phone Call from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/q3Y-9eT6Cuc\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2222"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2225,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2222\/revisions\/2225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}