One Hundred Twenty-One Days (22 page)

A familiar face cropped up in all this intertextuality in the references to two texts by Rudyard Kipling: his short story, “The Elephant’s Child,” and his poem, “If.” Readers can decide for themselves how much or how little chapter I parodies Kipling’s story—for me, it was a matter of inserting certain words and phrases from the story into my translation, which certainly created a different effect compared to if I had simply translated the chapter without looking at Kipling’s text.

I also adopted a few strategies in other parts of the text to manipulate its heteroglossic nature, following what I saw as the text’s own logic. For example, I rendered Harold Smith’s letter in chapter x in British English, which seemed necessary given his Oxonian origin. I also followed the text’s logic in chapter v when I wanted to add a footnote to explain an acronym; while footnotes are usually discouraged in literary translation, in this case my footnote blends right in with the 46 other footnotes in the chapter.
As for the German words and phrases scattered throughout the novel, I chose to leave those alone, since translations have already been provided in the text itself.
⁸

In other words, no annoying translator’s footnotes required.

Before you close this book, please allow me to thank Michèle Audin, for her humility and openness to collaborate with me throughout this journey; David Dollenmayer, for his generosity in assisting my understanding of the Brecht quotations; my mentors Emmanuelle Ertel and Alyson Waters, for their infectious devotion to the art of literary translation; my parents, for their everlasting encouragement
⁹
; and my husband and best friend Jonathan, for his steadfast love and patience, not least in listening to my muddled attempts to express my translation struggles at the end of a long day’s work, reading through my entire manuscript when I was sick of editing it, and coming up with a solution for one of the trickiest parts of this text.
¹⁰

And because you should honor your parents if you want to live a long life (Ex 20:12). No telling which one, but a choice few of you already know.

Christiana Hills

Binghamton, NY

SUPERNUMERARY NOTE OF SUPER TRANSLATORS

I would also like to thank the following translators for their exceptional work which, in various ways, found a place in this translation:

ALAN BANCROFT
(
Poems of St Thérèse of Lisieux
, St. Thérèse of Lisieux),
ANN HOBART
(“Should We Pardon Them?”, Vladimir Jankélévitch),
ANTHEA BELL
(
On the Natural History of Destruction
, W. G. Sebald),
ARRAND PARSONS & LOLA RAND
(
The Damnation of Faust
(libretto), Hector Berlioz & Almire Gandonière),
C. K. SCOTT MONCRIEFF
(
The Charterhouse of Parma
, Stendhal),
CAROLYN FORCHÉ
(“The Night Watchman of Pont-au-Change,” Robert Desnos),
DANIEL LEVIN BECKER
(
Painting at Dora
, Francois Le Lionnais),
DAVID DOLLENMAYER
(
Conversations in Exile
(uncredited), Bertolt Brecht),
DAVID LUKE
(
Faust
, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe),
GEORGE MUSGRAVE
(
Inferno
, Dante Alighieri),
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
(
Inferno
, Dante Alighieri),
KEITH WALDROP
(“The Swan,” Charles Baudelaire),
RAYMOND ROSENTHAL
(
The Drowned and the Saved
, Primo Levi),
RICHARD HOWARD
(
Force of Circumstance
, Simone de Beauvoir),
SAMUEL BECKETT
(
The Lost Ones
, Samuel Beckett),
STUART WOOLF
(
If This Is A Man
, Primo Levi).

Thank you all for your support. We do this for you, and could not do it without you.

DEAR READERS
,

Deep Vellum Publishing is a 501c3 nonprofit literary arts organization founded in 2013 with the threefold mission to publish international literature in English translation; to foster the art and craft of translation; and to build a more vibrant book culture in Dallas and beyond. We seek out literary works of lasting cultural value that both build bridges with foreign cultures and expand our understanding of what literature is and what meaningful impact literature can have in our lives.

Operating as a nonprofit means that we rely on the generosity of tax-deductible donations from individual donors, cultural organizations, government institutions, and foundations to provide a of our operational budget in addition to book sales. Deep Vellum offers multiple donor levels, including the
LIGA DE ORO
and the
LIGA DEL SIGLO
. The generosity of donors at every level allows us to pursue an ambitious growth strategy to connect readers with the best works of literature and increase our understanding of the world. Donors at various levels receive customized benefits for their donations, including books and Deep Vellum merchandise, invitations to special events, and named recognition in each book and on our website.

We also rely on subscriptions from readers like you to provide an invaluable ongoing investment in Deep Vellum that demonstrates a commitment to our editorial vision and mission. Subscribers are the bedrock of our support as we grow the readership for these amazing works of literature from every corner of the world. The more subscribers we have, the more we can demonstrate to potential donors and bookstores alike the diverse support we receive and how we use it to grow our mission in ever-new, ever-innovative ways.

From our offices and event space in the historic cultural district of Deep Ellum in central Dallas, we organize and host literary programming such as author readings, translator workshops, creative writing classes, spoken word performances, and interdisciplinary arts events for writers, translators, and artists from across the world. Our goal is to enrich and connect the world through the power of the written and spoken word, and we have been recognized for our efforts by being named one of the “Five Small Presses Changing the Face of the Industry” by Flavorwire and honored as Dallas’s Best Publisher by
D Magazine
.

If you would like to get involved with Deep Vellum as a donor, subscriber, or volunteer, please contact us at
deepvellum.org
. We would love to hear from you.

Thank you all. Enjoy reading.

Will Evans

Founder & Publisher

Deep Vellum Publishing

LIGA DE ORO
($5,000+)

Anonymous (2)

LIGA DEL SIGLO
($1,000+)

Allred Capital Management

Ben & Sharon Fountain

Judy Pollock

Life in Deep Ellum

Loretta Siciliano

Lori Feathers

Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk & Joshua Frenk

Matthew Rittmayer

Meriwether Evans

Pixel and Texel

Nick Storch

Social Venture Partners Dallas

Stephen Bullock

DONORS

Adam Rekerdres

Alan Shockley

Amrit Dhir

Anonymous

Andrew Yorke

Anthony Messenger

Bob Appel

Bob & Katherine Penn

Brandon Childress

Brandon Kennedy

Caroline Casey

Charles Dee Mitchell

Charley Mitcherson

Cheryl Thompson

Christie Tull

Daniel J. Hale

Ed Nawotka

Rev. Elizabeth & Neil Moseley

Ester & Matt Harrison

Grace Kenney

Greg McConeghy

Jeff Waxman

JJ Italiano

Justin Childress

Kay Cattarulla

Kelly Falconer

Linda Nell Evans

Lissa Dunlay

Marian Schwartz & Reid Minot

Mark Haber

Mary Cline

Maynard Thomson

Michael Reklis

Mike Kaminsky

Mokhtar Ramadan

Nikki & Dennis Gibson

Olga Kislova

Patrick Kukucka

Richard Meyer

Steve Bullock

Suejean Kim

Susan Carp

Susan Ernst

Theater Jones

Tim Perttula

Tony Thomson

SUBSCRIBERS

Adrian Mitchell

Aimee Kramer

Alan Shockley

Albert Alexander

Aldo Sanchez

Amber Appel

Amrit Dhir

Andrea Passwater

Anonymous

Antonia Lloyd-Jones

Ashley Coursey Bull

Barbara Graettinger

Ben Fountain

Ben Nichols

Bill Fisher

Bob Appel

Bradford Pearson

Carol Cheshire

Caroline West

Charles Dee Mitchell

Cheryl Thompson

Chris Fischbach

Chris Sweet

Clair Tzeng

Cody Ross

Colin Winnette

Colleen Dunkel

Cory Howard

Courtney Marie

Courtney Sheedy

David Christensen

David Griffin

David Weinberger

Ed Tallent

Elizabeth Caplice

Erin Kubatzky

Frank Merlino

Greg McConeghy

Horatiu Matei

Ines ter Horst

James Tierney

Jay Geller

Jeanie Mortensen

Jeanne Milazzo

Jennifer Marquart

Jeremy Hughes

Jill Kelly

Joe Milazzo

Joel Garza

John Schmerein

John Winkelman

Jonathan Hope

Joshua Edwin

Julia Rigsby

Julie Janicke Muhsmann

Justin Childress

Kaleigh Emerson

Ken Bruce

Kenneth McClain

Kimberly Alexander

Lea Courington

Lara Smith

Lissa Dunlay

Lori Feathers

Lucy Moffatt

Lytton Smith

Marcia Lynx Qualey

Margaret Terwey

Mies de Vries

Mark Shockley

Martha Gifford

Mary Costello

Matt Bull

Maynard Thomson

Meaghan Corwin

Michael Elliott

Michael Holtmann

Mike Kaminsky

Naomi Firestone-Teeter

Neal Chuang

Nhan Ho

Nick Oxford

Nikki Gibson

Owen Rowe

Patrick Brown

Peter McCambridge

Rainer Schulte

Rebecca Ramos

Richard Thurston

Scot Roberts

Shelby Vincent

Steven Kornajcik

Steven Norton

Susan Ernst

Tara Cheesman-Olmsted

Theater Jones

Tim Kindseth

Todd Jailer

Todd Mostrog

Tom Bowden

Walter Paulson

Will Pepple

AVAILABLE NOW FROM DEEP VELLUM

CARMEN BOULLOSA
·
Texas: The Great Theft

translated by Samantha Schnee ·
MEXICO

LEILA S. CHUDORI
·
Home

translated by John H. McGlynn ·
INDONESIA

ALISA GANIEVA
·
The Mountain and the Wall

translated by Carol Apollonio ·
RUSSIA

ANNE GARRÉTA
·
Sphinx

translated by Emma Ramadan ·
FRANCE

JÓN GNARR
·
The Indian
·
The Pirate

translated by Lytton Smith·
ICELAND

LINA MERUANE
·
Seeing Red

translated by Megan McDowell ·
CHILE

FISTON MWANZA MUJILA
·
Tram 83

translated by Roland Glasser ·
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

ILJA LEONARD PFEIJFFER
·
La Superba

translated by Michele Hutchison ·
NETHERLANDS

RICARDO PIGLIA
·
Target in the Night