Misquote.

I have always been of the opinion that once you set something to paper it is available in a way that makes the writer inescapably aware of the audience. While this is the intention of many writers – to have readers – many who keep personal journals, write poetry no one sees, or write letters they will eventually burn would protest. I understand this protest, sometimes I even believe that maybe I’m wrong, and I’m merely projecting  my own personal discomforts with writing. The cornerstone of my belief however is based on the assumption that there can never be a direct translation. Reading Russian classics in English is rewarding to be sure, but they were meant to be read in Russian and no matter how well developed a translation I simply cannot believe in an exact replica. There are too many words in other languages that cannot be translated into English. There are too many phrases that are loaded in other languages that English cannot convey. Backing each language is a cultural and literary history that one is hard pressed to recognize immediately in a different language. There is something to be said for the phrase “lost in translation”.

It is this loss that in my opinion also shows itself when attempting to put thought to paper and accompanying that loss is the recognition of a potential audience. People cannot always read another’s thoughts but they are often apt at reading words on a page. I make no claim that there are not those individuals who write solely for themselves, I simply think that narration colours and distorts ideas from their original meaning. Don’t get me wrong – I am not citing this as a negative quality of translation or even of writing. It is however something to think about when reading “personal writing” or even reading a novel with a crafty narrator.

So, why bother reading? If we can never really know what a writer means when they attempt to put thought to page, what on earth are we getting out of it? Why not write off all English translations of French literature as second rate? My own answer is that even though we may only glimpse a fraction of the original meaning, that fraction is enough to open up an entirely new world. The possibility and potential of a fraction cannot be underestimated. Aside from this there are moments where even if what we read is a splinter or distortion of the original thought sometimes there exist sentences, paragraphs and novels that no matter how distant from their own authors intentions seem to fit perfectly with one’s own personal narrative. What I mean to say is that I may not write exactly how and what I feel, but perhaps a more skillful, time-displaced and entirely absent author can. I am not advocating plagerism - credit where credit is due folks - but the possibility exists that someone has said or written exactly what you feel or think, and they have said it better than you could have imagined.