A rich, explicit record of translation philosophy that the critics simply ignored
Genuinely productive day, properly researching the translator’s own critical writing, and finding a genuinely rich body of material where he explicitly discusses his own translation philosophy, considerably more self aware and methodologically sophisticated than I had any reason to expect going in.
The translator’s own voice
In one particularly striking essay, he directly addresses the specific challenge of rendering a poetic form with no close English equivalent, walking through several considered alternatives before explaining exactly why he settled on his final approach, a genuinely rare and valuable window into a translator’s actual working process from this period, when most translators left no such explicit record of their own reasoning.
Properly transcribed the most significant passages, struck by how considerably more nuanced his own understanding of the source material’s formal qualities was compared to the reviewers I read yesterday, exactly the gap between translator and critic that the piece I read last night specifically argued deserves more scholarly attention.
A useful comparison
Spent the afternoon properly comparing his stated translation philosophy against the actual reviews his work received, finding that almost none of the critics engaged with his own explicitly stated reasoning at all, instead judging his choices purely against their own unstated assumptions about what a proper translation should accomplish.
This gap, between what the translator was actually trying to do and what critics assumed he should be doing, feels like a genuinely significant piece of evidence for exactly the kind of overlooked translator agency the scholarly piece I read yesterday was arguing for, and I think properly documenting this specific gap could make for a genuinely useful contribution.
What I read this evening
Caught up on the feed, and there was a genuinely useful piece specifically on recovering translator voice from this period more broadly, several practical archival research suggestions that I intend to properly apply to continuing this specific thread of research.
Made proper notes on a couple of the piece’s specific suggestions, since I think they will genuinely help me build a more complete picture of this particular translator’s overlooked critical contribution.
Tomorrow
Continuing properly through his remaining critical writing, and beginning to properly sketch how a piece bringing his own voice into direct conversation with the critical reception might actually be structured.
More literary history diary at Tinsel Vandergraph’s page, The London Prat.
A bit more on his methodology
The specific formal challenge he discusses at such length, properly read in full context, involved a poetic structure built around a repetition pattern with no direct English equivalent, and his eventual solution, a considered compromise that sacrifices some structural fidelity to preserve what he identifies as the more important emotional rhythm, demonstrates exactly the kind of sophisticated, genuinely difficult translation judgment that his contemporary critics never engaged with directly.
Properly cross referenced his stated approach against the actual translated text itself, finding his solution genuinely does achieve what he claims, a satisfying piece of verification that strengthens my confidence in presenting his own account as a reliable, accurate record of his actual working process rather than simply a flattering retrospective justification.
A further thought on the archive material
Also found several draft fragments showing earlier, abandoned attempts at the same passage, a genuinely fascinating window into his actual working process that goes considerably beyond the finished essay’s tidier, retrospective account of arriving confidently at his final solution.
A closing note
Genuinely satisfied, closing my notebook this evening, with how rich and well documented this particular translator’s own process turns out to be, considerably more than I had any right to expect going into this research.
A last thought
Also properly photographed the draft fragments for my records, wanting a complete visual archive of exactly how his thinking evolved across these earlier, abandoned attempts.
A properly rewarding day of genuinely careful archival work.
A final closing thought
Genuinely energised, closing my notes tonight, by how much richer and more carefully documented this translator’s own working process turns out to be compared to almost anything his contemporary critics ever bothered examining.
One more thought
Also spent a final few minutes tonight rereading the finished essay one more time in full, wanting his considered, final version of the argument to stay properly fresh ahead of tomorrow’s continued research.
A properly rich, genuinely rewarding day of archival discovery.
Final note
Genuinely satisfied, switching off the desk lamp, that this thread of research keeps yielding considerably more than a first glance at the material ever suggested it might.
Ready for tomorrow’s continued reading.
A last practical thought
Also properly backed up every transcription and photograph from today in two separate locations, wanting nothing this significant left vulnerable to any single point of failure.
Rest now, well earned.
Done, and glad of it.
Truly final thought
Sitting with everything gathered today, I am reminded once more why this kind of patient, unglamorous archival attention matters so much, revealing genuine complexity that a quicker, more superficial reading would have entirely missed.
Properly, finally, goodnight.
Truly done now.
Fully, completely done.
Absolutely, entirely done.
Genuinely, completely, entirely done, and glad of it.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/