To our Readers 2016 - PEN, Greeting

To our Readers 2016,

 

All over the planet this summer was awful with its heat. The mercury went up to 39 degrees on the Korean Peninsula, which set a weather record here. How can human beings endure the heat which is higher than their own body temperature? Meanwhile man-made catastrophes have rocked the whole world. Besides, anticipating a third war due to North Korea's nuclear bomb tests and the plan to deploy THAAD, a heated debate has arisen. Even relatively people recall Plato's word: ... he who refuses to rule is liable to be ruled by one who is worse than himself. People in a dilemma have to have a stance.

In such intense heat and underlying anxiety the members of PEN Gwangju tried to publish our annual and the editorial board was working on translating poems and essays. We did it to help our literary works be read in another corner of the world. The will itself is praiseworthy, but who knows, it could transform or even destroy the meaning of the originals.

The French words "belles infidèles" is frequently cited to suggest that translations can be either faithful or beautiful, but not both. How can we satisfy such an antinomic demand? We, the editorial board, concentrate on the Scottish historian Alexander Tytler, saying that an assiduous reading is a more comprehensive guide to a language. Sometimes more than dictionaries can do. We read the original texts so earnestly, that we had to trouble the writers with many stupid questions. These tasks are done. We just hope it will not end in great failure. Please read this annual with a somewhat Korean accent and mind.

Thank you for everyone who gathered here to bring out this shabby annual. Thanks for the decision of President Park Panseok and the executives to continue the translation publishing, partially as usual, in spite of the unfavorable financial condition. Of course, the best thanks to our readers!

Suh Yongjwa

Honorary President of PEN Gwangju (Korean Centre)

 

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『국제펜광주』 14호, 14~15쪽, 2016. 11. 15.