Ismini Radulovic

Good afternoon. First of all, thank you for taking the time to have this interview. I’d like to ask you the following question: Was it a lifelong dream to be involved in translation?

Yes, in my case it has been my desire to be involved in translation since I was a student.

Is there a translator you admire or generally hold up as a role model?

I know various translators’ work, but I would say it’s a confluence of influences. I mean, I can’t say who my favorite translator is, but I’ve dealt with the work of colleagues, and I consider them teachers, so to speak. Most of them were also writers.

What image of translation did you have before you were involved in it professionally, and what changed after you got involved?

In the beginning, as a student still, I had the desire to get into translation mainly because I liked translation and literature, and I thought I had a talent for rendering texts into another language. I’m also bilingual, so I saw that there was a broad field for me to work in. What changed along the way is that, while I thought it might be a profession that I could make a living from, eventually, doing both translation and interpreting, I also had to have a steady job. So it evolved more as a hobby or as a second job. The Hellenic National Defense General Staff or a certain Ministry would call me in for interpreting, I cooperated with various publishers from a young age, and one thing led to another. That’s how I got into translation. But I saw it was difficult to have it as my main profession, mostly because there is no trade union framework, so to speak, that would guarantee the rights of translators.

What does this hobby, as you call it, translation, offer you? What do you enjoy about it?

I would say it is a personal matter. It’s kind of like cultivating yourself, like a journey of self-discovery, and so is reading after all. Of course it involves great responsibility, especially when you’re translating major, established writers. It’s a job with responsibilities, it’s time-consuming, soul-consuming and solitary, and it needs proofreading, it needs a relevant social environment…

So what are the difficulties of translation?

The difficulties mainly concern the deadlines, because a book may seem easy but it turns out to be difficult, and there are other obligations, too. Also this loneliness that is connected with… I wouldn’t call it loneliness, because essentially it is communication with the text and its author, but it brings isolation from other activities and the outside world.

Is there a particular literary genre that interests you most regarding translation?

My great love is poetry. I have translated several poets from former Yugoslavia into Greek and Greek poets in Serbia. I also enjoy novels, short stories and essays. Recently, I translated a book by Yanis Varoufakis from English into Serbian and Croatian, called And the Weak Suffer What They Must. And it was very difficult, because, okay, it deals with the political history of Europe in recent years, it has references to antiquity, it’s a complex book, but it was difficult mainly because of the terminology.

Do you generally receive criticism for your work and if so, how do you deal with it?

Look, I can’t say I’ve had any badly-intentioned criticism. I mean, it has always been well-meant and it has always been welcome, since my youth. But I can tell you that I’ve been lucky enough to work with writers who were publishers, who were themselves translators, so they have always acted as teachers towards me. The only difficulty I encountered at the beginning, when I started translating from Serbian into Greek, was that since I am bilingual, but my last name is Serbian, many people treated me as a foreigner who translates from a foreign language into Greek, which is not her mother tongue. And many times at the beginning, when they still didn’t know that I am bilingual, that I have two mother tongues, they asked me, “But how can you translate since it’s not your native language?”. But, okay, we solved it along the way.

Regarding translation quality, do you think it could be further improved?

Yes, I think that with every book, I improve myself. I improve myself every time. And I think it’s a very good profession to do introspection, so to speak, because you cultivate yourself and you also do self-criticism. In general, I think translators are humble people. I mean they will never say they are 100% certain of something. I think they are not characterized by arrogance.

Are you involved in anything else besides translation? Do you write?

I do write some of my thoughts, from a young age, but I don’t think… I mean, that’s the thing about us translators, a good or bad thing, we don’t easily decide to publish our own stuff, because we just know, maybe, where we stand in relation to some people who are very good writers. Okay, I’m also involved… I was initially involved in oral tradition during my MA studies and I still consider it something I should develop and explore further.

Do you think or have you heard that there are translators who are satisfied with the financial rewards of translation?

Yes, I have. Of course, these translators translate into English, French, the so-called major languages. Here everyone is dissatisfied with the financial aspect.

What is your relationship with the authors you translate?

My relationship… When they are alive…

Yes.

It’s good. I choose to translate someone that I like. When I was younger and I was asked to translate a book I didn’t like, I rejected it. Now, of course, I think that as a professional I should also translate something I don’t like. And I do it. Ok, if I don’t like someone on a personal level, we’ll have a professional relationship. But translations come mostly from friendships, from acquaintances.

How do you deal with criticism of translation work, whether it’s positive or negative? Your own translation work, not in general.

Criticism of my own work… I try to get what I need, from both positive and negative criticism. Positive criticism is always welcome and I accept it anyway. Of course I’ll review it, see if I agree with that criticism. Regarding badly-intentioned criticism, you know, there is competition in our field and sometimes negative reviews come from someone who is ill-disposed for competitive reasons. I will, of course, take that criticism into account, too, and see where they are right and where they are wrong.

As a closing interview question, I’d like to ask what advice you would give to a young person if they wanted to enter the translator’s profession.

I think it is a profession with potential and it can develop on many levels. Interpreting and oral translation can be a main profession. As far as literary translation is concerned, this is what I would say: Be patient and, above all, do not see it as a main occupation. It’s something complementary, something one likes and something that… Regarding theater translation, I’ve worked with many theaters, with directors and I have taken part in the rehearsal process. It’s also difficult, there are long working hours, it’s a special form of collaboration, there’s the work with the author, there are the adaptations, there are many levels of collaboration between the translator and the playwright, and these projects are not well paid. So, patience. But if you love it, keep doing it and find your niche.

Thank you very much.

I thank you, too.