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Report on Emily Wilson

Alexa Drescher In her lecture on translating the Iliad, Emily Wilson discusses her process of translation in both tangible and intangible ways. I found her discussion on misleading binaries in translation to be fascinating, and her comments on why modern day retranslations of a text as old as the Iliad are warranted provided me with illuminating ideas to incorporate into my final project on the purposes of retranslation. She also discusses the priorities she had in mind while translating the Iliad, which I have been able to apply to my own translation work.  Emily Wilson discusses her history in order to allow listeners to more deeply understand her experiences translating ancient Greek texts. She grew up in the UK, where she read the Odyssey for the first time. She discusses in depth precisely how education on classic literature differs between the United States and the UK, and states that her experiences becoming educated in the UK had a major impact on her interests as a transla...
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Marjorie Salvodon's translation

Ruoyi Marjorie Salvadon talks about translating feminist literature, shedding light on how her personal background has infused her translations with unique perspectives. One captivating aspect she discusses is the portrayal of Haiti's hard-fought independence from French colonization within the novel—a theme that resonates deeply with her both fictionally and in her real-life experiences. Her profound connection to the text reflects her prowess as a cultural translator, adept at capturing the essence of a narrative beyond mere words. Salvadon also offers insightful recommendations for fellow translators, advocating for collaborative efforts(translating with someone else) as she herself co-translated the book Tomboy with another female translator. This collaborative approach, enriched by diverse cultural backgrounds, fosters a dynamic exchange of ideas essential to the translation process. Additionally, she emphasizes the importance of taking risks even if diverging from conventio...
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Marjorie Salvadon

 Armaan Arif Professor Vincent  22/04/2024    The concept of doing whatever you love in life has always been so fascinating. Many people would tell you to follow your passions, others might tell you to go to a certain field to be financially stable. And it has always been a tough choice for many people around the world.  As I start to draw a lot of my attention to my paper, I’ve started to look at a lot of these lectures with a different angle. My focus has become to try find phrases and quotes that can help support my argument, but that is a given. I also now try to understand the lecturer’s mindset, and what they’re trying to teach us about their style. By doing this, I feel like I can use these messages to try and support my argument to try prove why translators are like writers. Marjorie Salvodon’s lecture was great, I really appreciated when she said insinuated that her personal background is a major factor in her decision making when she translates. I thin...
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Salvadon: Translate What You Love

Salvadon views translation as a creative passion and pursuit. Due to her concerns for feminist and colonialist themes, she chooses to translate works surrounding these topics. Her translation of "Tomboy" showcases her strong connection to the text, which explores themes of enslavement, queer and biracial struggles, resonating deeply with Salvadon. Unlike previous translators, Salvadon dives straight into providing advice for her audience. Her four specific recommendations include collaborating with others, taking risks, engaging in literary comparisons, and translating multi-voiced novels. The most intriguing advice is on collaborative translation, despite the challenges it presents. Salvadon believes that despite potential clashes, working with another individual can lead to a stronger translation, breaking the isolation often felt in the process. The second piece of advice, taking risks even when facing disagreement, is also compelling. Salvadon addresses critiques of her t...
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Marjorie Salvadon's Lecture

 Salvadon offered us a new and final perspective on translation – the one of a translator who gets to choose what she works on. Salvadon has been able to work on texts that she is passionate about and which share a series of characteristics: they are written by feminist authors, they have complex characters, and they present the impact of French colonization and its legacy. The way she talked about the text she translated really reflected the passion she has for these texts, the way she connects with them, and how they offer different and complex views on the impacts of colonization. The biggest example of how she connects deeply with the texts was when she broke down when reading the last paragraphs of her latest translation project  Désirée Congo. In the final pages of the novel Haiti has finally won its independence and the silhouettes of the colonizer's ships can be seen on the horizon as they leave the island. The fact that she isn't able to read this scene without crying...
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Salvodon 4/19

“Translate what you love, what moves you. If you keep going back to it, translate it.” Marjorie Salvodon perfectly summed up her talk with this quote, capturing the essence of the entire lecture series. Truly, what an amazing series we had the pleasure of experiencing this semester! It's clear that each speaker we heard from genuinely translates what they love. As a self-proclaimed wild-card translator, Salvodon shared insights on how to embrace artistic freedom in translation. Her advice included engaging in co-translation, taking risks—even when others may not agree—reading works that serve as literary companions, and tackling multivoiced novels. We were gifted yet another perspective on how to view translation. Personally, I found her insights into co-translation the most enlightening. Salvodon described it as strengthening a relationship, almost like creating ‘a child’ together, and portrayed translation as something that can drive you crazy—intense, but fascinating. The inevit...
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Salvadon readings

Alexander Pfau      Salvadon's translations are a passion project, more than her job. As a university professor, her income allows her to work on translation in her off time while still being able to make money. Her translations are all feminist texts, focused on the Caribbean islands. The most interesting thing about her to me however, was her pronunciation of the word "Haiti". She says it like "He-di", and in a quick fashion, much different than the normal American would. I think it symbolizes her focus on identity, and how important a place's history is in giving it its own identity and purpose. In one of her excerpts, she even highlights how the character is struggling to find their identity in the French world that is attempting to shun them. With the goal of discerning the "blackness" from a text and expelling it onto the audience, she feels her translations are a high stakes race to preserve the history of her own history.     The readings f...
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