"The fear to write about these experiences came from taboo and shame regarding mental illness, poverty and trauma, which makes it even more important to write about them..."
I am so impressed you taught yourself German. I'll have to track down your book about that. And to be fluent enough to translate! I also loved hearing, as I have from others, that one's family story is yours to tell. I think I wrote that to Sari long ago when she felt she had hurt her parents by writing about how their divorce impacted her. "It's your story! You were a kid! Tell it!" I also loved that you thought nobody in your family would ever read your stuff, and then your brother and cousin did and supported you. I once attended a New Yorker festival talk with Mary Karr and Tobias Wolfe about writing memoir about family. They both said that their families and friends wanted to be written about more, not less.
Thanks Kirie! Yes I think I realised that I had become a writer out of the pervasive silence of my childhood, the page always listens. And I have had another cousin read Goblinhood in the meantime and similarly express gratitude for the naming of a reality they too had shared.
Great interview! I recently attended a great class with Jen about literary translation, but somehow I missed the news about her new book. As a child of the 80s named Sarah, I am obsessed with Labyrinth (and the Muppets), so I'm clearly going to have to get myself a copy of Goblinhood.
Couple of the juicier bits to me: "... thought I was writing about goblins, but I was actually writing about my family. This is one reason why the normalisation of AI is so dangerous, people don’t realise that writing actually happens when you’re writing, writing is a process, not simply a record."
and love the balance of making physical objects after writing "...I actually like to see how little you need to do for a model to register as the thing (red ball with green flourish for a tomato, yellowish moon for a croissant), which is similar to writing; finding the essence of what you want to express and honing it down to what is necessary to communicate."
It’s mentioned right at the end! The interview was conducted a few months back, so is focused on Goblinhood. So glad to hear you’re enjoying Fair Ivan!!
What a great interview! I love hearing about books that come out of epiphanies like this one: "After years of half-trying to be 'taken seriously' as a literary writer and translator of literary fiction, I realised that I wanted to write about the things that really interested me, that had always interested me, and that I had tried to hide for fear of being deemed unserious."
I am so impressed you taught yourself German. I'll have to track down your book about that. And to be fluent enough to translate! I also loved hearing, as I have from others, that one's family story is yours to tell. I think I wrote that to Sari long ago when she felt she had hurt her parents by writing about how their divorce impacted her. "It's your story! You were a kid! Tell it!" I also loved that you thought nobody in your family would ever read your stuff, and then your brother and cousin did and supported you. I once attended a New Yorker festival talk with Mary Karr and Tobias Wolfe about writing memoir about family. They both said that their families and friends wanted to be written about more, not less.
Thanks Kirie! Yes I think I realised that I had become a writer out of the pervasive silence of my childhood, the page always listens. And I have had another cousin read Goblinhood in the meantime and similarly express gratitude for the naming of a reality they too had shared.
Love "the page always listens."
Great interview! I recently attended a great class with Jen about literary translation, but somehow I missed the news about her new book. As a child of the 80s named Sarah, I am obsessed with Labyrinth (and the Muppets), so I'm clearly going to have to get myself a copy of Goblinhood.
Glad you enjoyed the workshop Sarah! And I hope you enjoy Goblinhood!
Great interview, thank you Jen and Sari!!!
Couple of the juicier bits to me: "... thought I was writing about goblins, but I was actually writing about my family. This is one reason why the normalisation of AI is so dangerous, people don’t realise that writing actually happens when you’re writing, writing is a process, not simply a record."
and love the balance of making physical objects after writing "...I actually like to see how little you need to do for a model to register as the thing (red ball with green flourish for a tomato, yellowish moon for a croissant), which is similar to writing; finding the essence of what you want to express and honing it down to what is necessary to communicate."
💕
Thank you Megan!
Very interesting interview. I'm curious to find out more about Jen's style of writing. Now I'm not sure what to read first 😅
Every book’s in a different style - that’s my style! Most likely from years of translating a range of authors. Hope you enjoy whatever you choose…
Thank you !
Seems a shame not to mention Calleja's latest book, The Life-Art of Translation which I'm reading now and which is again mind blowing.
It’s mentioned right at the end! The interview was conducted a few months back, so is focused on Goblinhood. So glad to hear you’re enjoying Fair Ivan!!
What a great interview! I love hearing about books that come out of epiphanies like this one: "After years of half-trying to be 'taken seriously' as a literary writer and translator of literary fiction, I realised that I wanted to write about the things that really interested me, that had always interested me, and that I had tried to hide for fear of being deemed unserious."
Thank you Abigail!