(A work translated into French in a frenzy in the early ’90s. Never offered for publication but personally meaningful.)
In one night around 1991, I decided to translate Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play into French.
It was part experiment, part adrenaline, part personal challenge, and big part being truly touched and profoundly affected. And thinking to really make it available.
I never submitted it for publication though. And in a weird way, that was part of my relationship to it. Redone in ‘my’ other language. (And that also meant I didn’t need to edit or update or what have you!)
It wasn’t the point, in some strange way, to publish. Meant to be… done/not. A Soldier’s Play… not… done… And in many ways, this stands for ALL translatory pieces that were either un/done or just, not done, or, done and never submitted… Translation as ritual, translation as daily meditation, translation as peridic deep dive and metamorphosis…
And it stands, this literal Play, as a ‘play’ on all the translations unfinished, not- or un-done, purposely and perhaps happily abandoned, launched but only for exploration’s sake… A solider, yes, a soldier’s… extensive and eternal play with translation…