Eliot Weinberger
Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei by Eliot Weinberger is a delightful little book critiquing translations of a Chinese poem written over 1200 years ago by the Tang Dynasty poet, Wang Wei. One would assume such an exploration would be dry, but it is anything but dry in the capable hands of Eliot Weinberger.
The poem under consideration is only four lines long. Weinberger deconstructs nineteen different translations, including one by Octavio Paz. He comments on each, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. An Afterward by Octavio Paz articulates his methodology for translating the poem. Weinberger follows this with several additional translations and a Postscript.
Weinberger does not shy away from lambasting the translations if he thinks they are injecting the translator’s biases, deviating from the original, being illogical in use of imagery, imposing an unwarranted cultural lens, or attempting to “improve” the poem. His critiques can be quite scathing but also very funny. For example, he says of one translation, “To me this sounds like Gerard Manley Hopkins on LSD.”
What Weinberger achieves—and achieves so well in such a short book—is to elucidate the challenges of translation. He argues multiple factors must be taken into consideration when translating, and the right words must be chosen if the aim is to adhere faithfully to the original work. Often a single word or a shift in perspective can transform the theme and tone of the poem.
Weinberger’s commentary is insightful. He comes across as a bit of a curmudgeon but one with a great sense of humor. Even if one knows nothing about Chinese poetry, this little book is an absolute gem for articulating the challenges of translating a poem.