This class focuses on understanding and conveying historical context, trauma, period- and culture-specific references within the language, and cultural memory. Participants will be shown sample translations from multiple novels that will aid them in appreciating and understanding the challenges of translating both historical fiction and fiction that is steeped in either war-related trauma or disturbances in emotion, thinking, or behavior, with a specific focus on mental illness.
Students will leave with the samples discussed in class and a better understanding of the complexities of the craft of translating.
The two-hour session will start with a brief talk about translation in general, focusing on the importance of translators successfully understanding challenging and deeply emotional source texts, and on resonating with the plot and its characters in order to effectively render the source text into English. There will be specific examples detailing a variety of approaches on how to stay true to the rhythm and the style of the writing, whether it’s stream of consciousness or prose that is more traditional. There will be one or two “reverse translation” exercises that will center around short translated passages, and participants will be asked to make assumptions about the source text. Students will also have a chance to ask questions throughout the class as we look at sample texts together, as this is a discussion-heavy class that welcomes questions, ideas, and feedback.
Ági Bori originally hails from Hungary and has lived in the US for more than thirty years. She translates between Hungarian and English, working in both directions. Her translations and writings are available in 3:AM, Anomaly, Asymptote, The Baffler, Litro Magazine, Maudlin House, The Rumpus, Tablet, Trafika Europe, Turkoslavia, Words Without Borders, and elsewhere. She is a translation editor at the Los Angeles Review.
