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In France, as early as 1992, Gao received the award of Chevalier for his contributions to literature. His plays have been performed internationally since he relocated to Paris in 1987. His two novels were selling well in France before the Nobel Prize announcement. Gilbert Fong’s English translation of six of Gao’s plays was published in 1999, and my translation of Soul Mountain was published in English in mid-2000. Q. Does translating literary works into English make them more “accessible” for consideration for international literary prizes? A. The Nobel Prize demonstrated that Gao’s major writings work in three languages, and I think this was an important consideration. With other prizes, one of the criteria may be that a work also be available in English translation. Q. Lingshan was published first in Chinese in Taipei, but it did not receive the public acclaim (selling fewer than 1,000 copies) that it has since received after Gao won the Nobel Prize. What do you think about the criticism some have made that Chinese readers did not value his writings until there was Western critical acclaim? A. This is the case with most serious writing.... Interestingly, in Australia, before the Nobel Prize announcement, Soul Mountain had sold over 4,000 copies, which is not bad for the size of the population! Q. Why is translation of literature important? A. Serious literature represents the thinking of reflective minds in one culture. Translation allows access to different perspectives on the same topic: human beings with all their flaws and imperfections. Q. Will you continue to do literary translations? A. I am kept quite busy with working on Gao’s fiction, but I am also translating a bit of poetry occasionally. Q. Whose poems? A. Poems by Yang Lian and Hong Ying. My translations of Hong Ying’s poems have been published in Australian literary journals such as Meanjin, Southerly, and Otherland and in the American journal Talisman. A poem by Yang Lian will be published in the Australian e-poetry journal Jacket. Q. Why did you choose these poets’ works to translate? A. I have translated and published Yang Lian’s poems in the past. I like his poetry. I also like Hong Ying’s poems. Q. For you, what is the most difficult thing about translating Chinese poetry into English? A. As with all translation, making the translation sound as good and read as well in English as the original, grasping that vital essence that makes it poetry and reproducing it. Q. How do you feel about your accomplishment of having made available the English translation of Soul Mountain? A. I feel great, and I have had e-mails from all parts of the world to thank me for making it possible for them to read it. The translator always puts her or his head on the chopping block, and to have translated the major novel of the controversial Nobel Prize winner Gao Xingjian singles out the translator for attack as well. But like Gao, I am pretty tough and have confidence in my work. Q. What are you proudest of with regard to your translation of Soul Mountain? A. The fact that I completed the translation. The timing of the first publication in Australia was perfect. Gao Xingjian came to launch the Australian publication of Soul Mountain in early July 2000, and on October 12 he was declared the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. 8 Translation Review
Q. Gao is the first Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. How do you feel about the role that you have played as the translator of Soul Mountain? A. I naturally feel great about making the work available to English readers. Gao has won gold and I feel I have been sprinkled with gold dust. Translation Review 9
Page 1 and 2: Translation Review Number Sixty-Two
Page 3 and 4: TRANSLATION REVIEW No. 62, 2001 TAB
Page 5 and 6: EDITORIAL: A NATIONAL CENTER AND TH
Page 7 and 8: INTERVIEW WITH MABEL LEE: TRANSLATI
Page 9 and 10: novel with him when he left China i
Page 11: Q. Could you have translated the ti
Page 15 and 16: know not a syllable. Yet in collabo
Page 17 and 18: happy gods, who laugh Olympianly to
Page 19 and 20: I’ve brought along the Big Guy, b
Page 21 and 22: INTERVIEW WITH YANG XIANYI By Qian
Page 23 and 24: Q: Have you had any difficulties in
Page 25 and 26: later, an English translator named
Page 27 and 28: that close, we had to consult with
Page 29 and 30: that they have me as their adviser.
Page 31 and 32: SOME PITFALLS OF TRANSLATING DRAMA
Page 33 and 34: German theatergoers: the uncrowded
Page 35 and 36: The crazed seizures that make you i
Page 37 and 38: ic, symbol- and reverie-filled exhi
Page 39 and 40: BIG RAT, BIG RAT: MULTIPLE TRANSLAT
Page 41 and 42: Songs: A line consists regularly of
Page 43 and 44: mean “grain,” for example. Wale
Page 45 and 46: and go to those happy fields, happy
Page 47 and 48: MODERN ARABIC POETRY IN ENGLISH TRA
Page 49 and 50: 1957-1967; the June (i.e., June War
Page 51 and 52: 2001. O’Grady, Desmond. Ten Moder
Page 53 and 54: Naimy, Nadeem, see Hawi, Khalil. Qa
Page 55 and 56: The translations I will be looking
Page 57 and 58: time highlighting the profundity:
Page 59 and 60: cannot replace the auditory recepti
Page 61 and 62: life but rather as the continuation
Page 63 and 64:
global literature in an English-lan
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understanding of Turkish literature
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poet, in a very inclusionary experi
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WRITING AND THE POWER OF WORDS: TRA
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Africa to win more than souls. Thus
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Chinese fountain, hesitated once mo
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a rotten and ungrateful bunch!” S
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Book Reviews Umberto Eco. Experienc
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were entitled, not only to make rad
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making system based on Mexican Indi
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The Station Hill Blanchot Reader.Ly
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challenges she encountered while tr
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current story lines, or a story lin
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language is not considered primaril
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