Jeffrey Zuckerman: My Moi

I have to say that Jeffrey Zuckerman’s talk was my favorite of the series so far. I’m very grateful he delved into our moi and shared with us what it means—and looks like—to bring ourselves into translation. He referred to translations as feeling transgressive, “...we can’t erase ourselves as if we were a perfectly clear pane of glass,” he says.

He then went on to share Andrew Solomon’s concept of vertical and horizontal identities. Vertical identities encompass traits and values passed down from parent to child across generations. In contrast, a horizontal identity involves acquiring a trait foreign to one’s parents. Zuckerman’s horizontal identity of being gay led him to pursue prose by queer novelists. In his work with Kevin Lambert, he shares that the story Édouard a seize ans  “was in a French that was at such a clear remove from the French I’d been taught, but it was a French…that I understood in a way that, say, an eighty-year-old straight man couldn’t.” He found himself relating to Lambert greatly and was able to lean into his horizontal identity to bring the work into English. I found this example incredibly insightful.

But Zuckerman’s reflection on his work with Jellyfish Have No Ears moved me the most. From sharing his familiarity with the opening scene when Louise goes into the soundproof room—a scene he knew intimately—to the “speech banana” and the “French films” bit. He knew that whole world and he was certain that he knew it almost even better than the author. When I read The Tide, and knowing that Zuckerman is deaf, I had the very simple thought, “he must’ve been able to relate to this story so well.” But I didn’t imagine the intimacy he felt with the text while translating. He shared that it became a mirror by which he saw himself honestly; that Louise’s words were actually his. “What are my words doing already there in another language?” he said. This book made him feel less alone. I genuinely hope to come across the book—or many books, as Zuckerman says—that would make me feel the same.

Lastly, the notion of translation being fundamentally transgressive and that any translation we do reflects our biases, knowledge, background, etc. is something that I have wondered if we can or should do less of to make ourselves, as translators, invisible. But Zuckerman’s perspective on this completely shifted my thinking. He framed this as an opportunity to create a piece that incorporates a part of ourselves in the work. By delving deeply into Adele Rosenfeld's book, he transformed it into something that was uniquely his own, which, as I think now, could be considered an ideal outcome for a translator.

—Maria

Oh, one more thing, I’m grateful Dina asked about the Joselit reading because what was that? I loved Zuckerman’s response though that a piece of art becomes more meaningful as we engage with it, so go out and look at more art!