The answer to this question is so self-evident that it barely merits the pixels: no-one is born a translator, and to become a translator takes years of dedication to the craft and trade. However, there is a case to be made there are certain moments when one undergoes such a significant change in outlook and mindset that the first term in the question might not be wholly inapt.
When I first applied for the New Books in German Emerging Translators Programme I did so with a strong sense of futility. Having read the biographies of translators who had participated in the programme in previous years, my old friend impostor syndrome tapped me lightly on the shoulder and said, ‘really? you?’. Nonetheless, thanks to the kindness of several friends whose insights into an at-times slippery passage from Yael Inokai’s Maelstrom, set for the application process, I was able to arrive at a translation I was at least not embarrassed by.
At this stage in my translation career I often feel like those bakers who post shamefaced pictures of their disastrous creations to Pinterest. They slave away for hours, adding a bit of buttercream here to shore up a sagging corner, rolling out yet more fondant in the hope that this time it will look like a teddy bear, but each intervention only makes it all the more hideous.
Having submitted the final version of the translation I tried to put the whole thing out of mind until. But then came the e-mail saying I had been accepted. I happened to be reading it in the queue at Aldi, for what that’s worth.
The Emerging Translators Programme is focused around an intensive two-day workshop in London. For this, the six participants prepare a sample translation from a new novel in German and the first day is given over to scrutinising these samples under the leadership of Shaun Whiteside. Shaun is a former winner of the Schlegel-Tieck prize as well as many other accolades over his long career, and he was able to draw on that vast store of experience to help us rethink and reshape our translations. Perhaps the most hard-fought discussion of the day was how to convey the many layers of pun, slang and profanity in Tom Zürcher’s Mobbing Dick, reminding us that not all translation is grappling with words that spill over several lines.
The second day took us out around London to meet three editors who publish work in translation. First was Nick Sheerin at Serpent’s Tail in their offices near Pentonville Road. Nick is a trained translator himself, so was able to help us understand the process by which a foreign-language novel goes eventually comes to appear in English on UK bookshelves. His passion for language, great literature and the unique challenges of translation shone through everything he said.
After this we headed over to the imposing offices of Penguin Random House near Tate Britain to meet Ellie Steel and Mikaela Pedlow from the Harvill Secker imprint. Sitting in a meeting room whose shelves were laden with copies of novels by Ian McEwan, J.M. Coetzee and Haruki Murakami was a powerful reminder of the scale of this publishing company. However, Ellie and Mikaela’s discussion of how they work with translators was anything but corporate and faceless. They discussed the role of scouts in finding exciting new writers – up till now I had really only thought of a scout as someone with grubby knees and a row of badges on his arm.
Last on our tour of London publishing houses was Federico Andornino at Weidenfeld & Nicolson. His list includes established greats such as Berhard Schlink as well as fascinating new novels from Spain and Italy. He explained how it’s not only the story in the novel, but the story behind the novel that attracts him to a new author. As with all the editors we met, Federico was charming, funny and, above all, clearly in love with good literature.
So, a rebirth? That is putting it too strongly, but transformative nonetheless, and perhaps the metaphor implied in the ETP’s name is not so far from the mark, either. I certainly won’t look at my work as a translator the same way ever again.
themovingbalance 