Angela Shen
on translating Pablo Neruda
I referenced EN/ES dictionaries to clarify the meaning and parts of speech of words I didn’t recognize in the poem. The real difficulty came from developing a true understanding of the poem and exploring how to convey that message in English. I worked in a recursive process, first drafting out a more granular translation that I would return to, revise, and refine as I researched and contemplated the substance and structure of different phrasings. I also re-read the entire poem at multiple stages, checking myself to stay true to the poem’s overall flow.
My rule of thumb for choosing English words when grappling with multiple meanings and synonyms was to (1) preserve the poem’s original meaning and (2) preserve an aesthetic and rhythmic form. I decided against certain changes that would have made the poem more concise and straightforward in English — keeping the repetitions of tal vez as “Maybe,” and the compact symmetry of que lo que despite how strange “that what I am” seems in English.
While working on this project, I had access to an English translation of the poem by Nathaniel Tarn recorded in Pablo Neruda: Selected Poems, edited also by Tarn. Tarn does not provide any notes on his translation process–and I ultimately deviated quite a bit from his translation, which at times made larger changes in punctuation and word choice. Comparing my final product to that of Tarn — plus the unshakable feeling that no matter how much I sought to justify my choices, some part of translating was just a leap of faith — helped me grasp how translation is also an act of creation and interpretation. Readers should ultimately choose for themselves how they understand a poem; in the meantime, I feel inspired to teach myself to read more poetry in its original language.
about the author
Pablo Neruda was a Chilean poet. A major voice of twentieth-century Latin America, Neruda has written over fifty works of poetry and prose, many of which have been republished and translated worldwide. He was awarded the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature.
An active politician and diplomat for much of his life, Neruda traveled to many places, including Jakarta, Singapore, Mexico, Argentina, and France. He supported the Republican cause in the Spanish Civil War and would go on to be an active supporter of the communist party. Neruda’s wide range of experiences, revolutionary conviction, and eventful love life influenced his poetry. As a prolific love poet, Neruda is known for sensual collections such as the famous Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada (Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair). In political epics like Canto general (General Song), he investigates Latin American history and takes pride in the struggle for justice against oppression. He also produced poetry of close, precise examination of the natural world in works like Odas elementales (Elemental Odes). The poem translated here is part of his 1935 book Residencia en la tierra I (Residence on Earth), which explores surrealist and existentialist themes.
about the translator
Angela Shen is a senior in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in Chinese and business analytics. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, she loves to read, cook, and travel. Recognizing the limits of language and translation, she nevertheless holds romantic conviction in the quest for people to truly understand one another. She undertook this project hoping that it would enrich her study of Spanish, deepen her appreciation for Neruda’s poetry, and compel her to grapple with the challenging questions of what it means to translate.
