Podcast for Social Research, Episode 58: The Kafka Diaries—A Reading and Conversation with Translator Ross Benjamin
Feb 3, 2023
auto_awesome
Award-winning translator Ross Benjamin and BISR scholars discuss Kafka's literature, translation challenges, call centers mirroring surreal bureaucracy, reading unfinished texts, and more. Delving into anxiety, Kafka's writing process, and the responsibilities of translators.
Translating the diaries reveals Kafka's diverse world, inviting wide theoretical and creative interpretations.
Challenging the notion of an 'authentic' Kafka, the project embraces diverse works and resists narrow interpretations.
Preserving ambiguity in translations preserves Kafka's enigmatic essence, encouraging a range of interpretations.
Deep dives
Translation of Kafka's Diaries: Unveiling the Unsanitized Real Kafka
This project delves into translating Kafka's diaries, reflecting the unaltered, unrestricted essence of the author not sanitized by previous versions. It exposes the genuine Kafka, not limited to a specific interpretation, encouraging diverse theoretical explorations.
Kafka's Diaries: A Genuine Window into Kafka's World
The diaries capture Kafka's multi-faceted world from the Jewish Christmas writings to his left-leaning tendencies, showcasing a complete picture of the author's thoughts and experiences. They invite theoretical and creative interpretations beyond sanitization.
Challenging the Literary Historians' Search for Kafka's Authenticity
Amidst the quest for the 'real' Kafka in various texts and interpretations, the project challenges the traditional notion of an authentic Kafka by embracing the diversity and richness inherent in different works. It resists narrowing interpretations and offers a more open-ended view.
Maintaining the Mystery: Translation Philosophy of Kafka's Baffling Content
The translation approach to baffling content in Kafka's diaries focused on preserving the original ambiguity and richness, refusing to impose narrow interpretations. The goal was to keep the translations as thought-provoking and enigmatic as the original material, allowing for a wide range of interpretations.
Translation of Kafka's Diaries in English
The speaker reflects on the translation process of Kafka's diaries into English, highlighting the challenges faced due to significant differences in editions and the need for a faithful representation of Kafka's raw and unfiltered writing style. They emphasize the importance of capturing Kafka's creative process and unique stylistic evolution through meticulous translation, focusing on elements such as complex sentence structures, multilingualism, and sound intricacies.
Exploring Sonic Elements and Multilingualism in Kafka's Diaries
The discussion delves into the sonic aspects and multilingual nuances present in Kafka's diaries, emphasizing the attention to sound and linguistic texture during the translation process. The panelists analyze Kafka's use of various languages, including German inflections, Austrian-isms, and Czech terms, while uncovering the interplay between semantic meaning and sound aesthetics in his writings. They also touch upon the translation of dreams within Kafka's narrative and the significance of documenting linguistic artifacts in the text.
Concluding Remarks and Acknowledgements
The culmination of the panel discussion expresses gratitude towards the participants for their insightful contributions and interpretations of Kafka's works. Ross acknowledges the panel's profound analyses and interpretations, highlighting the collaborative exploration of Kafka's writing nuances. The panel concludes with a warm appreciation for the engaging dialogue and diverse perspectives shared during the session, signifying a deep appreciation for the literary exploration undertaken.
In episode 58 of the Podcast for Social Research, award-winning translator Ross Benjamin sits down with BISR’s Christine Smallwood, Rebecca Ariel Porte, Ajay Singh Chaudhary, and Lauren K. Wolfe to discuss—on the occasion of his new translation of the fully reconstructed, uncensored diaries—Kafka’s long, often fraught, sometimes tendentious publication and reception history. Loosely organized along three axes—Kafka and literature, Kafka and translation, Kafka and Theory—their talk touches on Kafka’s creatures, proliferating anxiety, his vexed relationship with tradition (and how to carve out a space for protest), the fantasy of a translator’s omniscience (and disabusing oneself of the same), Benjamin’s “Task of the Translator,” Kafka as stimulus to prodigious theoretical invention, the call center as the surreal bureaucracy of this century, how to read and write with unfinished texts, and much else besides.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
