I found Tracy K. Smith's talk very open and warm. I loved that she emphasized conversation, and that there was no "right" or "wrong" in regards to her translation. I did notice that in David's direct translations, the word choice tended to be more simple and straightforward, whereas Smith's vocabulary was more flowery/high-brow. I wanted to ask what prompted her to make those vocabulary choices, but I didn't want to sound rude, as I prefer the simpler versions.
Reading the Cavafy poems reinforced this preference, as all of these authors seem to translate the Greek more closely. They preserve the form and exact meaning of the poem, with what seems to be little personal embellishment (whereas Smith spoke of her translations as reflections of her, and seemed to have a more personal relationship with them). I think the closer translation makes it more fair for the poems to be called translations, versus Smith's work, which seems to be her playing off Yi Lei's ideas but writing her own poems.
"Landscape With Dog" brought out a striking realization in me, which is that foreign fiction tends to be more "slice of life", where English fiction always seems to need action/tension on every page (or people will get bored and put it down). This could completely be a result of the types of books I read, but thus far, the translations of fiction that we've read (as well as The Wedding Party, translated by Jeremy Tiang, which I'm in the process of reading) fit into this "slice of life" narrative. It is an interesting look at the philosophies of other parts of the world, as well as what other people do and don't read.
Sarah
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