Hi Everyone - Sorry for the delay in getting here this week; I'm still madly playing catch-up after being out of town for two days. So, I am going to posst three different questions here in three separate posts, with each question addressing one possible topic for your first essay. The is that we can all share ideas and discuss these topics as you work on your essays.
Question #1: Wendy Wickwire, in transcribing and editing Harry Robinson's stories, "poetizes" the text. She has stated that she is following anthropologist Dennis Tedlock's model of representing oral narrative as "dramatic poetry" on the page. Tedlock argues that this mode of written representation does a better job of preserving the flavour of oral performance as it moves to written text. Other critics have argued that this arbitrary choice is an imposition on the (narrative) text and has other, negative, and ideological implications. With which position do you agree? Why or why not? How does the formal style of written representation affect meaning? Use explicit examples from Write It On Your Heart to argue your position.
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I can see both sides of the argument for this debate about putting oral stories into print. On one hand the "poetizing" of the material could in theory restrict the reader's interpretation of the story, therefore also implying that this "poetized" text is nothing more than the translator's view of the story's "flavor" and/or meaning.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if the text is simply written in traditional story or novel form, there is no indication as to where inflection of voice, or other types of break in the oral storyteller's voice occurred. This type of translation could prove a lot more difficult for the less experienced reader; regardless of whether it is a lower reading level that is present, or unfamiliarity with the subject of oral stories in general.
On page 188, there are five complete separate paragraphs or sections aside from others that continue from or go onto other pages. Without these breaks, the emphasis that the breaks presumably amplify would probably be lost in the textual translation. The first complete paragraph that begins "It should not be that way...." is making a statement that the Harry
must have felt very strongly about and therefore Wendy put it on it's own. Without this separation, the emphasis on this certain train of thought could be lost with the inclusion of the first and last sentences being interpreted with preceding and following thoughts.
Maybe the translating of oral material would be a good place to have the translator's notes and comments written with the text to clarify points of emphasis certain parts of the story. The only problem with this is that it arguably interrupts the flow of the story and therefore the reader's interest could suffer as well.
Perhaps there is no perfect solution for translating oral to written form and we should just enjoy and be thankful for the written material that we have.
You make some really good points here, Jim, and I think that your discussion was very timely, given our reading for today. I think in the end that your comment, "there is no perfect solution" is absolutely correct. Different approaches have different pros and cons that can be associated with them. I'm not sure if poetizing, or not, a text, "restricts" readers' interpretations so much as it guides them in certain ways. Certainly, different modes of translation and transcription foreground certain aspects of a narrative while simultaneously leaving others in the background...
ReplyDeleteResponse to Wickwire.
ReplyDeleteI do not fully agree that poeticizing stories makes the oral performance better. I personally like the short story format in Louis Bird’s book. I find it more enjoyable to read, as it is more fluid. I do admit that Wickwire’s method allows the reader to see the storyteller’s nuances better, his pauses, his dilemma’s, and his speech patterns. This is good, it makes his work interesting and entertaining, but… I find it choppy. I find it hard on the eyes and a bit boring… Yikes. This is a personal choice.