Crossing barriers of language and era are difficult for anyone. But for ASU Japanese professor Anthony Chambers, it's all in a day's work.
Chambers and colleague Bruce Fulton of the University of British Columbia presented their recent translations of Japanese and Korean short stories at Changing Hands Bookstore Friday.
"I think of translation as a type of magic," Chambers said to a crowd of about 40 ASU students, faculty and community members after reading aloud one of the stories in his volume.
Fulton and Chambers provided a unique perspective on literature, audience members said.
Asian language graduate student Brian Hurley said he found the readings and question-and-answer session interesting because "translators don't get a ton of attention."
"They exist in a strange gray area, and they function as a bridge," Hurley said. "Dr. Chambers summed that up really well."
Both professors said they carefully select their projects based on the writing style of the original author to make their function as a bridge easier.
"There is a kind of conjunction, a kind of merger of personalities when we translate," Fulton said about a translator's relationship with the original text's author.
Chambers said he agreed that translating requires a certain likeness between the original author and translator. He looks for a text that "resonates," he said.
"If you don't feel that kind of affinity with the author, it's difficult to translate, to even muster the will to translate," Chambers said.
In addition to channeling the author, Fulton said a translator's job is to find material that is relevant to his or her audience.
"Text selection can be difficult. Just because a hundred academics in Korea think something is great doesn't mean we'll think it's great here," he said. "It's difficult to find something that really comes alive in English."
Fulton's translation is of a contemporary Korean book of short stories, "The Dwarf," by Cho Se-hui. With a context of the rapid Korean industrialization in the 20th century, this 1978 Korean classic criticizes society for crushing the "little people" in its drive for success.
"This economic miracle comes at a tremendous price," Fulton said. "I knew this was something that had to be translated."
In contrast, Chambers's most recent book, "Tales of Moonlight and Rain," was originally written in classical Japanese by Ueda Akinari. Chambers said the stories, which all focus on the occult, reflect the ideas of their 18th-century writer.
"Ghosts and demons existed," Chambers said. "At least people thought they did."
Even if Chambers's subject is further removed from modern life, the idea of a ghost story is still appealing. Yukari Takahashi, a student of Chambers, said she plans on reading the book, though perhaps not in Chambers's translation.
"In Japanese, yes," Takahashi said. "In English it takes a lot of time for me, but I will try."
Reach the reporter at: claudia.koerner@asu.edu.
