And that's a wrap!
A big thank you to Michael for sharing so much of his time and wisdom with us.
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YuanMei asks:
a) What do you think about Michael Hamburger’s work, as poet, translator and essayist? Do you think a translator’s importance wanes with the passing of time?
b) Who would you have liked to translate that you have not translated yet?
c) Why do you think the British reading public is in general so reluctant to spend time with foreign “quality” fiction or poetry?
carolinebermo wants to know:
As a poet do you find that you have to ‘hold back’ on making your prose translations too poetic? Would you say that practising writing and translating poetry is a great asset when you turn to translating prose?
One more question: Do you find that some of the best translated lines you have created came very quickly, instinctively, or are you most proud of ones that were very tricky and required a lot of puzzling over?
Lynkeus says:
Michael, I’m a grateful fan, as your translations have opened so much literature from the German worlds for us. (I don’t share your thoughts on Stefan Zweig, though.) Could I please ask for a few comments on Heidegger’s position in 20th century German literature? Somehow I feel that he has a presence that most of us don’t quite know how to deal with, and I’d be very interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks.
samjordison also had some advice for CunninghamEck:
Speaking as a publisher from the other end of the equation, the thing that most commonly seems to work for us is when a publishing deal is set up with a publisher abroad... i.e. if A German publisher gets in touch that’s more likely to go through than a translator alone - so possibly start by approaching companies publishing in your destination language - Although of course there are always going to be exceptions and variant circumstances...
Reading Group host samjordison has a question of his own:
I have a question too! How do the other stories from Kafka that you are about to start working on compare to those collected in the Metamorphosis collection? Are there significant differences? (Or is it too early to start asking questions about them?!)
BJohnson says:
I love your reviews of American poets. If I had my choice I wish Great Britain would revel in the hallucinatory lines of James Schulyer. Who are some of the American poets of Schulyer’s generation you would hope would be increasingly read?
Camaradeau asks:
Do you have the impression, as I think many people do, that literary translation is generally undervalued by the academy? And supposing this were so, do you think aspiring literary translators would have anything to gain - or, on the contrary, everything to lose - by choosing to pursue their work outside the academic milieu? Many thanks!
ID6423288 asks:
Are there any German writers (with translations in copyright) who you feel have been badly mistreated by their translators?
Henry King says:
Daniel Weissbort said it’s easier to translate a collection than a single poem. Have you found this true? And does the way you translate change if you know the poem in hand is going to be part of a larger project?
Dylanwolf brings up Michael’s review of Martin Amis’s latest novel for the London Review of Books:
As a fan of Martin Amis, I found myself often agreeing with what you said and thinking actually yes, that’s what I love about his writing. Strange!
Can I ask who you would cite as an anti-Amis? Which contemporary author is wading fearlessly into the deep stream, rather than splashing through puddles?
theorbys asks:
Do you think there is a stand out author of prose fiction in the German language in the last couple of hundred years or so, the one, possibly two, you would put in the time capsule?
leroyhunter says:
Few non-Anglophone writers have achieved the profile or had the influence on the English literary landscape of WG Sebald (in recent years, anyway). What is your estimation of his writing? Why do you think he has seemingly struck such a chord with readers (and writers) in England?
DrCaroSummers says:
By sheer coincidence, I will be discussing your translation of Die Verwandlung with my students next week - the context is a module focused on German literature as an object of cultural exchange. I (and they) would be interested to hear how you feel about the question of ‘ownership’ of the translation, as this is something we have discussed in seminars. To what extent do you feel controlled by English-language literary and/or publishing norms when you translate? And especially as a translator with your own cultural prestige, do you feel there is a struggle for power in the translated text?
BenWilkinson says:
Two questions - both, I’m afraid, rather grasping on my part - first, can we look forward to another volume of collected reviews and occasional criticism from you, a follow-up to 2001’s Behind the Lines? And second, after a longish hiatus, I’ve been happy to spot a few of what George Szirtes once called “that rare, strange, much valued item” these past years: a Michael Hofmann poem. Is a new collection in the offing?
In reply to nilpferd’s request that the Guardian’s Reading Group select one of Michael’s translations of Joseph Roth, Reading Group host samjordison asked which one Michael would personally recommend:
ID6146263 asks:
Do you write any poetry in German?
nightjar12 says:
There has been a lot of discussion about the humour in Kafka’s writing. I appear to be one of only a few who do not find it funny, or only very rarely on which occasions the next sentence usually wipes the smile off my face and I feel ready to cry. Do you think that Kafka intended it to be amusing? Am I taking it too seriously?
Dylanwolf asks:
Michael, have you ever seen any productions of Steven Berkoff’s stage adaptations of ‘The Metamorphosis’, ‘The Trial’ and ‘In the Penal Colony’? If so, what did you think of them?
gorky1 says:
‘Poetry- but what is poetry anyway? More than on rickety answer has tumbled since that questioned first was raised. But I just keep on not knowing, and I cling to that Like a redemptive handrail.’ – Wistawa Szymborska -SOME PEOPLE LIKE POETRY-(translated by Baranczak and Cavanagh)
Two questions: who, in your opinion, has the best theory to explain what poetry is? Which of Thomas Bernhard’s novels is his masterpiece?
Thank you for so much excellent poetry... and interesting writers in translation to explore!
CunninghamEck has more questions:
Do you have any opinion on Ernst-Wilhelm Händler? Do you think his novels will ever appear in English, and do you yourself have any interest in translating them?
If a translator falls in love with a contemporary novel written in their source language, and wants to launch a project to find and English-language publisher willing to publish a translation, as a first step is it better to approach the author or their publisher? Or is there an even better first step?
MythicalMagpie has had a coincidental arrival:
Oh now that is Kafkaesque. The book has just come through the letterbox, right this second! Looks good though. Thank you.
CunninghamEck asks:
Do you intend to translate more of your father’s novels?
nilpferd says:
Writers like Kafka and Joseph Roth, who you’ve also extensively translated, lived on the cusp of enormous change and upheaval. Do you think that great literature can only emerge in conditions of impending “Weltuntergang”, or is an author’s own outlook and fantasy sufficient?
Oh, and please make a case for the Reading Group taking on one of your Joseph Roth translations at some stage in the coming year.
Giuseppe Cornacchia asks:
What would you recommend to poetry translators? Do you think only poets can really translate poetry?
theorbys asks:
What do you think are a few of the best novels written in the German language in the 20th century?
Malunkey says:
a) I’ve always thought that The Metamorphosis is uncannily close to perfection. Every detail seems just right, from the woman with the boa to Gregor’s relationship with his sister. Every aspect of the world Kafka creates in this story seems to be resonant and true. I think it stands out from all his other fiction as the one absolute masterpiece. Would you agree?
b) How did you handle the “Ungeziefer” problem? I remember Nabokov arguing quite firmly that it had to be some kind of beetle that Gregor turned into.
Joel Ferdon wants to know:
What about Gottfried Benn fascinates you the most? Drew you to his work? Do you still love his work after spending so much time with him and in his head?
ForgetIt asks:
To what extent do you agree with Dr. Johnson when he wrote
“A translator is to be like his author - it is not his business to excel him.”
to which George Steiner (thinking of Rilke) added:
“where he does so (excel him), the original is subtly injured ... And the reader is robbed of a just view”
I personally disagree with both.
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Webchat: Michael Hofmann is now with us
Michael Hofmann is kindly joining us, live from Florida, to answer your questions for the next hour. Add your questions in the comments section below!
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Post your questions for Michael Hofmann
Michael Hofmann is the translator of the superb edition of Metamorphosis And Other Stories that we’ve been following this month and on Thursday 30 October he will join us for a live Q&A.
Hofmann has also translated Kafka’s Amerika and The Zurau Aphorisms: he is, in other words, extremely well placed to answer questions about the great writer. But fascinating as Kafka is, it would be a shame to limit ourselves to one writer in the company of such a distinguished translator: Michael Hofmann has translated some 70 books from German into English, including Hans Fallada’s Alone in Berlin, as well as books by Joseph Roth, Patrick Suskind, Thomas Bernhard, Wim Wenders and Peter Stamm.
Alongside his translation work, Hofmann also has an international reputation as a poet. He has published several collections and won a number of prizes, including a Cholmondeley Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and an English Arts Council grant.
He is also a reviewer and essayist; his recent review of Martin Amis’ The Zone Of Interest is a masterpiece of the form. It begins: “I read The Zone of Interest straight through twice from beginning to end and it feels like I’ve read nothing at all.” I’m guessing I don’t have to urge you to read the rest...
You can see a more complete bibliography on this British Council page, which also contains a statement on why Hofmann writes – some food for thought:
Why I write? With the example of my father before me as I was growing up, it was all I ever wanted, or felt fitted to do. In obedience to a genetic imperative - my father wrote 12 novels in 12 years and dropped dead, my (maternal) grandfather edited the Brockhaus Encyclopaedia. Out of allegiance to certain twentieth-century practitioners, in particular Lowell, Brodsky, Benn and Montale. To bring confusion to my languages, and clarity to myself.
And if you enjoyed that, you’ll be pleased to hear that next year will see the release of a collection of Michael’s essays called Where Have You Been. He also has a short translation from Wolfgang Koeppen just out from Dalkey Archive (YOUTH), another Peter Stamm is on the way and he is about to start work on another volume of Kafka stories.
Finally, I should also tell you that Hofmann is a professor at the University of Florida. Among other things, this means he’s getting up especially early to be with us. Please join us on Thursday at 3pm – and you can get your questions ahead of time by posting them in the comment section below.
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