Sunday, February 20, 2022

Filipino poet Jim Pascual Agustin on self-translation

 In the series "Translation Tuesday" by  the journal Asymptote, Filipino poet Jim Pascual Agustin talks about what it means to self-translate his poems into English decades after the publication of the original poems:

"More and more I have been looking at my self-translated writing as ‘versions’ instead of traditional translations. [...] I decided to leave out an entire stanza that was in the middle part of the original. The cut made for a stronger version of the poem. [...]

Recently, he also experimented with simultaneous self-translation:

"‘No Past, No Future’ sees publication ahead of the original Filipino (‘Walang Kahapon, Walang Kinabukasan’). This poem was written, revised and translated on the same day in January 2021, with each version influencing the completion of the other." 

You can read his full comment and some poems in English translation here: https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2021/11/30/translation-tuesday-three-poems-by-jim-pascual-agustin/ 

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