Just last week, I enjoyed a very fruitful Bristol Translates Summer School organised by my alma mater, the University of Bristol. Three intense days of morning and afternoon sessions were spent closely analysing and picking apart a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts, all under the expert guidance of literary translators Tim Parks and Howard Curtis. Working in the fields that I do, and with the deadlines that I must often respect, I rarely have the chance to linger over every single word I translate, weighing up the pros and cons of inserting this term rather than that term. But this course gave me the chance to do just that, taking a step back, slowing things right down and carefully considering every nuance, every turn of phrase, every comma. Collaborating with the tutors as well as a small group of fellow translators from all backgrounds and fields came as a breath of fresh air.
Although the days were rather full-on (especially as the sessions didn’t leave much time for doing any actual paid work!), the sheer variety of texts we looked at ensured there was never a dull moment. Having the chance to (over?) analyse more ‘flowery’ and imaginative language – for which a variety of words can often be harnessed in the target text – made a real change to the more technical materials I generally face, where a given term is what it is, no questions asked, no alternatives accepted. And although I am well aware that no two translators will ever come up with exactly the same solution when faced with any given translation issue, I was nevertheless surprised by the sheer scope of our suggestions and contributions. The fact that it took us the best part of nine hours to translate only a couple of paragraphs as a group speaks volumes. Can the ‘perfect’ translation ever exist? The course has also left me dwelling on my own personal translation style – am I perhaps guilty of over-personalising texts I translate? And how can we ever truly ensure that we avoid doing this?
So today, as I returned to my usual routine, a tight deadline requiring me to turn around a news article in around half an hour, I found myself questioning my translation decisions, hesitating over terms I wouldn’t generally ponder. And surely this is what it is all about? Reflecting on each and every choice so that you, as translator, are convinced by your final version, as close to the original in sense and meaning as you can possibly make it. Whether or not I am ever able to break into the literary translation field, I can safely say that the week’s workshops have already been of benefit to my current work. A thoroughly enjoyable experience, and one I will definitely repeat in the future!
A big thanks to the Bristol Translates team, Bristol University, my fellow ‘students’ and our wonderful tutors Tim Parks and Howard Curtis, it was a real pleasure!
Italian 
English