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Preface
Though I grew up in Arkansas, I spent
my childhood straddling two cultures.
My parents emigrated from China and
spoke mostly Mandarin in the house,
but they wanted me to assimilate in
America and encouraged me to speak
English. So I spent a great deal of my
time translating from one language to
another, which led me to understand
the importance of translation and
the challenges of translating well. It
is not just a matter of replacing one word with another, but of
conveying the essence of what is being said.
By moving between the two cultures, I gained better insight
into both. The essays in this collection illuminate how translation
fosters this sense of empathy—understanding how people from
different countries and cultures might feel and act. As Johanna
Warren sagely states in her essay, “Humans have a long and
bloody track record of distrusting and devaluing what we do not
understand.”
That is why the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
has been such a strong supporter of literary translation over the
years. Bringing other voices to the American public, voices that
we might not hear otherwise, makes the country as a whole a
better place. Given the wide array of ethnicities and traditions in
this country, translation helps bring us together and accept the
differences among us.
Since 1981, the NEA has awarded more than $8 million in
grants to translators and organizations publishing translation—
one of the most significant investments in literary translation
in the country. This is tied intrinsically to the NEA’s mission to
provide diverse experiences with art that expand the American
public’s horizons as creative, innovative thinkers and citizens of
the world.
Please take a look at the fascinating essays in this collection
from a variety of translators and publishers. And then take their
recommendations and read a book in translation!
Jane Chu
Chairman
National Endowment for the Arts
The Art of Empathy: Celebrating Literature in Translation
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