Why unfinished essays matter
Looking back, the forgotten approach was the right call. Translations are a conversation between two writers and a reader.
What did not work
I read it once in a hurry and once bit by bit, and they were different books. Short books are not lesser books; frequently they are the opposite. Nothing here requires a notebook, though it does make things easier. Most problems with diaries turn out to be problems with time. Most problems with essays turn out to be problems with time.
Half of the work is deciding what to leave out.
Small things
If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about diaries. Below are a few jottings, roughly in the order I picked up them. Some of this will be obvious; some of it took me years. In September the light changes, and so does the work.
I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer. I keep coming back to diaries, mostly because it rewards persistence. Margins are where reading turns into thinking.
Closing thoughts
Between browsing second-hand shops and annotating, the second one taught me more. The trick, if there is one, is to leave enough room for slip-ups. I like second-hand books that shows the marks of how it was made.
If something here is unclear, that is on me, not you. I keep coming back to second-hand books, mostly because it rewards persistence. I would rather do one thing deliberately than five things in a hurry.
In May the light changes, and so does the work. The result is not perfect, but it is truthful. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about short stories. Here is what changed, and what stayed exactly the same.
What surprised me most was how little equipment it needed.
First steps
I tested the translated version first. It did not last. The shift showed up bit by bit, then all at once. A good library card is the cheapest luxury there is.
The best passages are the ones I copied out by hand. A friend once described translations as hushed work, and the phrase stuck. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works. Every reading list says as much about the reader as the books.
Thanks for reading, and for the gentle jottings that keep arriving. There is a version of this that is much more complicated. This is not that version. A friend once described reading lists as hushed work, and the phrase stuck. Between rereading and annotating, the second one taught me more. This began as a quick note and bit by bit turned into something longer.
Most problems with translations turn out to be problems with time. If you only take one thing from this, make it the part about novels.