As a pretty mediocre translator I am deeply envious of those who are talented enough, confident enough and keen enough to work in the field of literary translation. The following was posted on a translators' e-group and I want to keep this and reread it as it says as much about the act of translation as it does about living a life.
So here is the link: http://gu.com/p/2yagx
How I got lost in translation and found my true calling
Translation can be an underpaid, anonymous job. Yet it is crucial for the cross-fertilisation of literature and for Maureen Freely, it has become a deeply satisfying life's work
Outside the Anglophone world, it is not unusual for novelists and poets to work at some point in their lives as translators. Though most will say that they did so mainly to subsidise their own writing, it is often clear, when you look at that writing, that it has been enriched by the imaginary conversations they've had with the poets and novelists whose words they have translated.
