R. Pulvers and J. Beichman Reading Responses (Umi)

 R. Pulvers "On Translating Poetry":

I found Roger Pulvers' article to be extremely interesting. In his paper, he talked about how it is almost necessary to not literally translate the original text when dealing with poems. To me, his argument makes complete sense but I was quite shocked when he said that the translated poem has to come naturally out of the voice of the translator in the new language. This means that it is almost as if you are reading a new poem. The reason why this shocked me is because prior to reading this, I was under the impression that translators should not add or remove too much content from the original in the sense that the works should be very similar because it is a failure for a translator to try to "improve" the original work. But, after reading Pulvers' paper, I have come to accept a new way of thinking in which translators are allowed to, and are encouraged to, deviate from the original source text. 

J. Beichman "Through a Glass Darkly":

In this text, Janine Beichman gives us insight into translating haiku and tanka and the challenges that translators face. Reading her paper, I was fascinated to learn how translators like herself have to make touch decisions when translating such as making choices about line breaks and structure in order to convey the same feeling or spirit as the original source text. Her description of the poem translator's job -- to not just replicate the original source text but to infuse it with their own understanding and interpretation, effectively creating a "second self" of the poem in the translated version, was something I really enjoyed learning because it enforced the idea in my head that translators and poets have a special connection in that sense. To clarify, I find it beautiful that readers of the translated version can experience both the spirit of the original text and the interpretation of the translator and the translator's experiences. Overall, I enjoyed reading this text and I am glad I got more insight into the difficulties and extreme uniqueness of translating Japanese poetry.