Withmore and more people growing interested in East-West translation and bilingualpoetry, Mississauga poet and translator Anna Yin compiled her translations of39 poets writing in English and 20 poets writing in Chinese. This resulted inthe bilingual collection Mirrors & Windows. The last section, “PoemsInspired By Translations” consists of 7 poems, each in English and Chinese, byAnna Yin.
“Itbegan in an ancient legend that said that one can find truth in mirrors. Idiscovered my true self in my early thirties when I began writing poetry.Similar things happen to other poets. Poetry not only becomes our windows tosee outward but also our mirrors to see inwardly. Later, I was invited totranslate poems for some poetry magazines. By helping them, I found translationalso serves both as a window and as a mirror. It amazes me that we are all sodifferent, yet also alike. Each poem can lead to another interesting world. Andthese worlds call us to enter, to explore and to exchange.”— Anna Yin, “WhyMirrors and Windows?”
Inthis interview, we discuss what makes a successful translation, working onpoetry and translation in tandem, Chinese poetry recommendations, andforthcoming projects.
Anna van Valkenburg: Mirrors and Windowsisan ambitious(and expansive!) project which brings Chinese poets toEnglish-speaking readers and English-speaking poets to Chinese readers. Can youspeak about your mission in writing this book, as well as how you chose the poemswhich would appear in it?
Anna Yin: In Mirrors and Windows, following GeorgeElliott Clarke’sintroduction, I wrote “Why Mirrors and Windows?” I think It evolved through a long period of time. At first, I seemed towrite and translate poetry for myself. However, after my poem “Toronto, No More Weeping” wonan award and CBC Radio broadcasted it in 2005, I recognized that what I wrotecould be used for a good cause. Soon I was asked to translate this poem for aChinese radio station. Then more editors and poets invited me to translatepoems for them, the more I started to see cultural-bridging impacts. Threeyears ago, I noticed I have translated more than 40 poets’ works, I began to compile them in book form. Iretranslated most of them and added 20 new works. The new ones are mostly inPart 2 (From Chinese to English) and Part 3 (Poems inspired by translations). Idid hope that I could add more, but I was just too busy with my IT full-timejob, writing and poetry alive workshops. AV:
AY: Well, these are the same questions I have asked myself. Translatingpoetry is very challenging, especially with two very different languages(Chinese and English). I find writing my own much easier and sometimes I wishto alter the original to make the task easier. There are so many translatorsbut good ones are rare. We need good translators, especially for poetry as “poetry is what gets lost intranslation”(Robert Frost)
My translationprocess is an open, engaging, and learning process, a journey of collaborationof words mapping, discoursing, exploring, and restoring. I was lucky that Icould directly communicate with most of the poets in Mirrors and Windowsto discuss their poems. I also researched the culture, history, and politicsbehind the poems to try to grasp a deeper understanding of them.
I made somemistakes in my earlier translation works and re-translated the works and putthe new versions in Mirrors and Windows. In fact, when my first poetrycollection Wings Toward Sunlight (Mosaic Press 2011) was published, itwas suggested that the book be published in both Chinese and English. I was notconfident enough for this and wanted to wait. In 2019, My fifth poetrycollection Love’s Lighthouse was publishedin Taiwan in both Chinese and English. Yet when I introduced it, I hesitated tosay it is a book of translations. You see, even with my own work, the originaland the translation are slightly different. Sometimes, I trust my need to makethem different.
Yes. as youmentioned, there is so much involved- the tone, the language, the imagery, withdifferent cultures, histories, and languages, all are different. So, I try tofind the right words, images, metaphors in the other language to transport andtransfer the “truth” and theessence of the poem, meanwhile I hope to win native readers’acceptance and appreciation. I believe a goodtranslation should be faithful and close to the meaning of the original, butalso be accessible, acceptable, and appreciated in the language of translation.At poetry and translation workshops, I summarize the translation process as “Make it new”, “Make it known” and “Make it real”. So, if in the translation language world, readers regard mytranslation as a good poem, and the messages and merits in the original areretained, then I know the translation is successful.
AV: In this book, you translate bothfromEnglish to Chinese and from Chinese to English. Did you find that onewas easier than the other? Are there any aspects of Chinese or English thatmade translating it particularly challenging?
AY: For metranslating from English to Chinese is easier. But, it depends on the poem.Anything closely tied to culture and history, such as allusions, idioms andpuns, are very challenging. I often struggle to decide what to keep or whetherto use footnotes.
In Mirrorsand Windows, the most challenging works were works by George Elliott Clarkeand C.D. Wright. George’s are notdifficult to understand, but he is the master who often playfully uses variousallusions, idioms, dialects and linguistic skills which make translation verychangeling.
C.D.Wright’s poetry is like abstract paintings or dreams withmystery prophecies. I was perplexed. I read and re-read and believe I foundsome clues, unfortunately, when the poet was still alive, I had not confirmedthese with her.
AV: How does translation work fit into your life as apoet? Does it propel your own work or hinder it?
AY: I have notcompleted a lot of translations yet. This is my first anthology oftranslations, as John Robert Colombo hopes, I too hope it is not my last one. Ithink translation will fit my life as a poet more in the future. I see theadvantage as a poet who writes in both Chinese and English. I also see a greatneed for people with the ability to be both a poet and a translator. I rememberin 2015 I was invited to read at Tree Reading Series and met a lot of wonderfulpoets in Ottawa. If there will be more anthologies by me coming, for sure Ineed to include more Ottawa poets’ work andindigenous people’s work.
Translatingpoetry is for me a loyal love involving a consumption of great time and labor,but I have learned a lot from it to help my own writing; that is the reason Iadded a unique part III: Poems inspired by translations to the book. I hope itillustrates my journey: Every Step Was into a New World (Al. Moritz)
AV: How does Canadian and Chinese poetry differ? Didyou find any similarities as you were translating?
AY: Well, Anna,you ask me a tricky question, I am afraid. What do I know about Canadianpoetry? How to define it? I see Canadianpoetry is very diverse, inclusive, and dynamic.Like any artistic form, everything is changing and evolving. And nowadays, Chinese poetry has alsodeveloped many schools and different trends. I only can speak from my ownimpression with limited resources. I have read a lot but randomly, so allow meto be wrong. I think initially the difference is like ink painting versus oilpainting, Chinese poetry is compact and condense with sparse images… messages and emotions are blended in, and what is leftunsaid in fact is the most important…. But now, the difference is less since global exchange and evolution.All poets seek to be unique in voice and style. Translation is a kind ofrendering of a new poem --without losing the commonly-recognized beauty and theoriginal qualities: make it new, make it known, make it real.
AV: If you could recommend one Chinese poet to Canadian readers, who wouldit be?
AY: I would recommend Luo Fu (1928-2018), a great poet of modern Chinesepoetry. He was born in Hunan, China, the same province I was born in, so pleaseallow me to be proud! In 1954, he founded the Epoch Poetry Quarterly in Taiwanwith Zhang Mo and Ya Xian, and served as the chief editor for many years. Heauthored 37 collections of poems, and his works have been translated intoEnglish, French, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Swedish and etc. His masterpieces are“Death of the Stone Chamber,” “The Wound of Time”and “Driftwood”. The mostimpressive thing was he kept writing into his 90s. His long poem “Driftwood” was written atthe age of 72, it has 3000 lines. It contains metaphysical reflections on hisview of life and death, and on the overall Chinese reality and culture.
AV: What are you working on right now?
AY: Beside my ITfull-time job, I started my own small press providing editing, translating, andpublishing services, I also continue poetry alive workshops and organize poetryevents.
I am workingon Truth in Slant, a new poetry collection, which I began in 2016. Ihope to pick it up and finish it next year.
Anna Yin was Mississauga’s Inaugural PoetLaureate (2015-2017) and has authored five poetry collections. Herpoems/translations have appeared in Arc Poetry Magazine, The New YorkTimes, China Daily, CBC Radio, World Journal andothers. Anna won several poetry awards and teaches Poetry Alive in both Englishand Chinese.
Anna van Valkenburg is the author of Queenand Carcass (Anvil Press, A Feed Dog Book... 2020) and the associatepublisher at Guernica Editions. Her poetry and reviews have been featured in ThePuritan, Prism International, december magazine, The RustyToque, and elsewhere. She was born in Konin, Poland, and currently lives inMississauga.
