Dina Amanatides is a prolific writer whose literary works have spanned for over 60 years, encapsulating a variety of themes written in different genres, short stories, theatrical plays, haiku, poetry and scattered thoughts or aphorisms. Dina first published the Greek version of Human Characters, Ανθρώπινοι Χαρακτήρες, in 1997, 21 years ago. How timely, her work has come of age and seen the light of day, once again, this time in the English language.
From the outset I would like to point out that I will not be reviewing Dina’s original work Ανθρώπινοι Χαρακτήρες; this was done 21 years ago. What I would like to emphasise today and pay tribute to is the vital role a translator plays when undertaking such a momentous task.
Marian Spilias has selected to translate a body of work that has not only deep, meaningful substance, but also a philosophy of life that Dina espouses in all her writing.
The book comprises of 16 short stories and one play with biographical notes on both authors.
As Marian explains in the introduction in the Translator’s notes, her translation “aims for a close and faithful rendering of the original, but acknowledges that as in all translations, considerable liberties need to be taken to produce a smooth narrative in flowing English.”
A translator undertakes a very difficult task when he/she decides to put pen to paper to faithfully recreate the original text in another language which gives credence to the original script.
In doing this, the translator not only has to possess a deep and extensive knowledge of the original language that the text was written in, but he/she must as well manipulate extremely well the language it is to be translated into. Simultaneously, the translator must also discern the meaning the author wanted to convey, and of course must have an inner sensitiveness of the author’s sensibilities of the story line. Marian has managed to convey all these aspects in this translation and all credit goes to her for undertaking such a difficult and demanding task in masterfully translating the work of an acclaimed and well-known author such as Dina Amanatides.
Marian in this translation has brought to life once again Dina’s stories, stories that can be appreciated and read by the second and third generations, stories that may have been written only a few years ago. This further demonstrates Dina’s foresight and perceptiveness of the human condition, no matter when this material was written. Time is no barrier in her work.
I was fortunate to be able to read the text in both languages and appreciate as well as observe the exacting work that Marian has undertaken.
On many occasions, reading the translated short stories I was reduced to tears in the same way as I was when reading the original Greek version.
As mentioned before I would like to stress that Marian is not trying to render word for word the literary genre of Dina’s work but she is trying to convey the meaning and essence of Dina’s stories. She is trying to bring forth the soul and spirit of the story in the transported language, i.e. English.
Marian has painstakingly selected the correct words to reflect the accurate meaning and feeling the author intended. And of course, the syntactical constructs are similarly attended to with the necessary flawlessness.
If I can give some examples of this in Greek and English – page 12,
«….Μόνο με ουσιαστική κατανόηση και σκληρή προσπάθεια φτιάχνεται ο καλύτερος Κόσμος! Ξεκινώντας πάντα από την καλλιέργεια του εαυτού μας!»
«…. Only with fundamental understanding and hard effort can a better world be created, but always beginning with our own personal development.”
And then on page 13, «….Η καθαρή ανάσα στις πολιτείες καθημερινά λιγοστεύει, γίνεται σχεδόν ανύπαρκτη.»
“… The ability to breath clean air in our cities is diminishing daily. It is virtually becoming non-existent.”
I have chosen the following example to illustrate how Marian has eloquently translated one of Dina’s very difficult reflections into a fluent piece of writing:
Page 65, «….Τέλεια αποδέσμευση απ’ τη Ζωή, κι από τα δεινά της… Χωρίς συνέχεια πια και πικρά ενθυμήματα κι ασήκωτα βάρητα στη Μνήμη. Τώρα όλα τα άγια όνειρα, λιβάνι στο ιερό τετέλεσθαι!
Η πνοή της αφθαρσίας- η Ψυχή- δε νοιάζεται για καλά ρούχα κι επίγεια αγαθά πια. Λευκή πεταλούδα αέρινη, αεροβατεί άβαρη, στην απεραντοσύνη του Κόσμου, χωρίς η Μνήμη να μας πληγώνει, στο ατελεύτητο περιβόλι των Αιώνων…»
“… It is a total detachment from life and from its evils, without any more continuity, and without any bitter reminders or unbearably painful memories. Now, all the sacred dreams have evaporated like wisps of incense at the altar.
The incorruptible spirit- the soul- is not bothered about good clothes and earthly goods. It is a white ethereal butterfly floating weightlessly in the infinity of the universe, without painful memories to hurt us in the endless Garden of The Ages”.
And on page 71, we notice that Marian has managed to convey the same meaning as the author intended with fewer words- «…Η καινούρια δομή της κοινωνίας μας δε θα μας γκρεμίσει τις χαρές του.
Ελπίζει για έναν Κόσμο που εκτιμά το είδος του, και δε διασπά την αρμονία και τη συνέχιση της Ζωής!
Έναν Κόσμο που η Ελπίδα είναι το δυναμογόνο οξυγόνο, για να μπορέσεις να ζήσεις…» – 46 words.
“…Our society’s new development will not destroy its happiness. It has hopes for a world that values its kind and won’t ruin the harmony and the continuation of life… a world where hope in the invigorating oxygen for survival.” – 39 words.
There are so many other examples I could recount but I think that these give us a small sample of how the translator has managed to transmit to us the art of translation.
In other words, the translator is in fact creating a new body of work with the same backbone, the same structure but with prosthetic limbs which function capably and efficiently.
As more translations are produced, and there have been several in the past few years, they have given us the opportunity to appreciate the literary work of the first-generation writers as well as come closer to their philosophy of life and their nostalgia for what they left behind.
We want to thank Marian for the meticulous work, as well as the time she expounded in perfecting this translation. Her proficiency in both languages, her endurance and persistence in attaining the best results has produced this wonderful outcome.
Congratulations Marian, not only for embarking on such a challenging task, but also for carrying it out with precision and sensitiveness. Accomplished people such as Marian do not only undertake a translation, they create a legacy which is there for posterity. They create an avenue for the younger generation, whose knowledge of the Greek language is either poor or non-existent, to be able to immerse themselves in these stories, as well as find their roots and maybe start to understand their heritage.
May you both continue to create masterfully, so that we can enjoy.
*Cathy Alexopoulos is the President of the Greek Australian Cultural League. She delivered this speech at the launch