5 conversations with a translator

During my whirlwind tour of Milan, Franca and I had much to talk about; below is a random selection of five topics covered in our conversation.

1. On the phonetic differences between the German and Austrian languages. This was not really a conversation, but a case of me listening to a master of European languages. I asked the question, she explained the difference with examples. I have neither the skill nor the memory to repeat the details of the lesson; suffice to say that I completely understood the essential phonetic differences between the two languages – if only for two minutes.

2. On the strange similarity between the remains of San Carlo Borromeo in the crypt of the paleo-Christian Battistero di San Giovanni, and the undead pirates in Pirates of the Carribean. Our tittering was shushed by a pious devotee who was sitting behind us.

3. On the relationship between ‘terrorism’ and ‘fascism’. Franca has distinct memories of Italy’s more recent, violent past, such events as the fatal bombings in Bologna in the 80s, when scores of people were murdered. The Mafioso is still a strong presence in Italy and Italian politics, and has strong links to residual fascism (if I can call it that). I wondered whether the Mafioso would find it more difficult to use force and physical violence, given that they may now risk being branded ‘terrorists’.

4. On the difficulty of forgiving oneself for wrongs done to a recently deceased loved one.

5. On the most likely candidate for Australia’s second Nobel prize for literature. As the Italian translator of no fewer than four Nobel laureates (Toni Morrison, J.M. Coetzee, V.S. Naipal, Nadine Gordimer – incidentally, all four received the prize within two years of her translations) Franca is infinitely more qualified than myself for serious discussion on this matter. This didn’t, however, prevent me from having input in the discussion.

We both agreed that David Malouf and Les Murray were Australia’s best hopes. I declared my position in the former camp immediately. At the time, this was partly because I had recently received my advance review copy of Malouf’s latest collection of poems Typewriter Music (UQP 2007) (keep an eye out for my review in the June issue of the ALR, in The Australian on the 1st Wednesday of the month – at 3500 wds, the lengthiest review I’ve published.)

My argument is as follows: the main criterion for the award, as I understand it, is the author’s contribution to their national literature. My first argument concerns the breadth of the contribution – a type of quantitative argument. Whereas Murray has published many volumes of poetry and criticism, Malouf has made substantial contributions not only to the nation’s poetry and criticism, but also its prose fiction, both novels and short fiction, as well as opera libretti. The depth of the contribution – which would perhaps be a qualitative argument – requires more time than I have here, and is perhaps ultimately a matter of ‘taste’. I won’t go further into the matter here – suffice to say it’s my opinion that, in these discussions, it is often forgotten that Malouf is a poet, as well as a novelist.