BookBlast interview with Nicky Harman, translator from Chinese
Nicky Harman, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m based in Weymouth and in London. I go to China every year on visits. I speak and read Spanish, French, and Italian, but I only translate from Chinese. I have two grown-up kids and two grandchildren. I keep reasonably fit — I cycle, walk, swim, and do yoga, but all in moderation! And I love food.
When you were growing up, what books had an impact on you?
When I was very small, my father used to read us Grimms’ Household Tales every day after tea, and I loved that. Rapunzel (“let down your hair”) was a particular favorite. This only happened in winter . . . my parents were farmers, and in summer, work went on till late in the evening.
In my early teens, my father tried to wean me off children’s books and introduce me to the classics. As a result, I went on strike and didn’t read any more fiction until I was in my thirties. After that, and somewhat belatedly, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens became big favourites. I wasn’t an entirely undutiful daughter: I carried around my father’s present of a leatherette-bound box set of Austen for twenty years without ever opening them, and then had to retrieve a couple of the volumes from houses in places like Sheffield and Wandsworth, where I had mislaid them. I never did make headway with Trollope or The Brothers Karamazov, which my father kept pressing on me.
Why do you translate?
I love the language and writing. When things go well, I feel like I’m opening a window on another world for readers, and that’s a great privilege. I have no desire to write a novel of my own.
Your advice to new translators just starting out?
Keep the day job. Learn as much as you can about the translating and publishing business. Explore the literature of the language you want to translate from, and figure out who and what you like. While you’re waiting for that book contract, translate short pieces for fun. Place them with literary magazines, and get feedback from more experienced translators. Join the Translators Association as soon as you can (when you have your first contract for a full-length work), or the Emerging Translators Network.
Attend translation-themed events, like those run by the Free Word Centre and International Translation Day, which is held annually at the British Library in London.
How did you kick-start your career as a translator? What was your strategy?
I confess I didn’t have a strategy. It took a few years before the work built up, and I could give up teaching to devote myself to translating. My work as a translator started slowly, partly because so little was being translated from Chinese. Things are much better now. Every December, I compile a list for Paper Republic of new Chinese fiction in English, and every year the list grows longer.
How and why is the role of the translator important in the acquisitions process? And how important is funding?
Most publishers and agents can’t read the original Chinese, so sometimes translators act as intermediaries between author and publisher. That’s not always an easy position to be in, and it can involve a lot of unpaid and fruitless work. But sometimes, it’s successful.
Funding is crucial for translations, especially for small publishers. PEN Translates is an important source of funding but is oversubscribed. National cultural organizations should support translations, and some do — such as the Polish Cultural Institute.
What are you most proud of translating?
Gold Mountain Blues, a historical novel and Family Saga by Zhang Ling. She has a wonderfully muscular style of writing and effortlessly weaves the personal into the historical. It was an extraordinary feat of writing, so, of course, it required a superhuman effort from me as a translator.
What is your biggest failure?
I’m not sure. I always do my best in translations, but some work out better than others. Some novel samples I’ve done have been no more than competent. A translator friend jokingly says that when things aren’t going well, she’s “still waiting to get the voice.” It’s a good way of putting it. Conversely, when you do get the voice, it feels as if the translation is taking off and acquiring a life of its own. Very satisfying.
What are you working on at the moment?
As a freelancer, I’m always busy with several things. I’m helping to promote my last translation, Xu Xiaobin’s novel Crystal Wedding, finishing a novel called Happy Dreams by Jia Pingwa, and about to begin my first graphic novel. I’m also working on Paper Republic, preparing to teach a summer school at City University, and more.
Your views on book publishing and translation?
Let’s have more of it!
Has the perception of books in translation changed in the book trade and media?
I feel that translated fiction is now more widely read, though I don’t have facts or figures to prove it. UK-based translators are much better at promoting themselves and their work. On the downside, there are fewer literary prizes for translations.
Your views on how new technology has impacted books in translation and your work?
I hardly ever have to use cumbersome Chinese paper dictionaries anymore. Most of my terminology research is done online. Translating fifty years ago, relying solely on paper dictionaries, would have been much slower.
Do you enjoy reading e-books?
Yes. I have no problem with e-books and don’t have strong feelings about needing a physical book in my hands — though I do still read print books.
How involved are you in promoting the books you translate? Your views on social media?
Social media? It’s a very good thing.
My involvement in book promotion depends on the publisher. It’s their decision whether or not to involve me, but I always offer my help and use social media as much as I can. For Crystal Wedding, I worked closely with Balestier Press because they’re a small company, but also because I believe in the book and want people to read it.
I also spend a lot of time promoting contemporary Chinese literature in translation in general, not just my own work. I co-ran Read Paper Republic, where we published a free-to-view short story, essay, or poem by a contemporary Chinese writer once a week for a year. To promote the stories, I blogged and organized live events with other translators and authors.
Who are the five people, living or dead, you’d invite to a party?
Carrie Gracie, for her wonderful China reporting;
Fuchsia Dunlop, for her fabulous Chinese cooking;
The late Professor Owen Lattimore, for his erudite lectures on the Tatars and the Great Wall;
Dr. Emily Mayhew, for making the history of medicine fascinating;
My daughter — to see her reaction and swap notes the next day;
As you can see, I’ve chosen storytellers. I plan to say nothing, just sit back, enjoy Fuchsia’s food, and let them do the talking. If any of them can’t come, I’ll invite King Lear for his raw, naked disillusion.
Your bedside reading?
Crime novels, preferably set as far away from the present day and my surroundings as possible, like in Ancient Rome.
Amitav Ghosh, because of the Ibis Trilogy. I’m fascinated by the different voices he writes in and the various kinds of English he uses.
Your favourite poet?
John Donne and Han Dong. Donne was a favorite in my teens, while Han Dong is the one Chinese poet I’ve translated. I hardly ever read poetry, but translating Han Dong is a wonderfully meditative experience.
Your heroes in real life?
Médecins Sans Frontières, but there are many unsung heroes.
Your chief characteristic?
Dogged determination.
Your chief fault?
Anxiety.
Your favourite motto?
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
And, occasionally, “Mañana!” — let’s leave it till…
BookBlast Review Crystal Wedding
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