Alex Zucker
If you have read any contemporary Czech novels in English, you have probably read the words of American translator Alex Zucker. Zucker has translated more than a dozen books of contemporary Czech literature, most recently Case Closed by Patrik Ourednik. Zucker sat down with The Prague Post recently on his first return to Prague in several years.
The Prague Post: One of your first major translations was City Sister Silver by Jachym Topol. How did that come about, and why did you change the title from Sister, as it is in Czech?
Alex Zucker: I met Jachym originally in New York City, so I already knew him when I came back to Prague and I worked with him translating a few of his shorter pieces. The opportunity came up to translate the novel and I was chosen by the publisher to do so. Regarding the title, the novel is split into three sections: “City,” “Sister,” and “Silver.” The word “sestra” has a variety of meanings in Czech, including one’s biological sister, but also nurse and nun. There was no way I could really capture that multiplicity of meanings in English so I decided to combine the names of the sections. I asked Jachym about it and he approved of the idea, so we went with it.
PP: But you did not translate Topol’s novel Gargling with Tar, which came out earlier this year. Why not?
AZ: There was an application process with the publisher so they could decide which translator would do that novel. I applied with two sample chapters from another one of Topol’s books, as they had asked, and they chose someone else, but then announced that the application process was for Gargling with Tar...It’s a real shame that authors don’t get to decide who translates them, but what can you do? I long ago decided I’m not going to get bitter about this industry.
PP: Do you subscribe to any particular translation theory?
AZ: No. Theory is a nice way to understand a translation, but not to do one. Theory is useless when you’re sitting down with a text. In the end, it’s you alone with words. A translation is an accumulation of choices based on context. How many ways can you call someone a jerk? You choose the right word based on the other words around it.
PP: What are your plans for the immediate future?
AZ: It looks like I’ll be returning to Prague this summer to teach a course at Anglo-American University. It won’t be a straight translation course because there would be too many difficulties with language skills. Instead, I’ll teach a course on literature in translation. It’s a very interesting question of which books get translated, and why. This is something I’d like to investigate further, and teach.
Stay tuned for part 3 of The Prague Post’s interview with translator Alex Zucker.
