Joyce’s Ulysses in Macedonian: Workshop in Progress
Journal
Qorpus
Date Issued
2022-06
Author(s)
Abstract
Translating James Joyce’s Ulysses is not an easy task in any language. From my
personal experience (I have much, much to learn) it proved that translating it into Macedonian and in Cyrillic was (and still is both now and ever) quite a challenge. Oftentimes the
texts of Ulysses seem unreadable and difficult to interpret, since every episode changes in
technique, perspective, style, and register. Joyce does not put the reader at ease, let alone
his translators. As a first-time reader, you can never be quite sure where do Stephen’s or
Bloom’s inner thoughts begin or end or simply interrupt the narrator’s story. To read and
reread it aloud, to translate and metamorphosize Ulysses in your own language is surely
an enjoyable, exciting, and gratifying experience. Yet, make no mistake, paradoxically, it
is never a comfortable adventure. It needs perseverance. “There is nothing that cannot be
translated,” Joyce assures (qtd. in Ellmann, James Joyce 632). If translation is a never-ending process, it is by Joyce himself that we are willed to revamp our versions again and
again to ensure Bloom’s blooming Immortelles. Thus, this article gives a brief glimpse at
life with Joyce and Ulysses beneath the blueglancing immortality of his crozier and pen.
personal experience (I have much, much to learn) it proved that translating it into Macedonian and in Cyrillic was (and still is both now and ever) quite a challenge. Oftentimes the
texts of Ulysses seem unreadable and difficult to interpret, since every episode changes in
technique, perspective, style, and register. Joyce does not put the reader at ease, let alone
his translators. As a first-time reader, you can never be quite sure where do Stephen’s or
Bloom’s inner thoughts begin or end or simply interrupt the narrator’s story. To read and
reread it aloud, to translate and metamorphosize Ulysses in your own language is surely
an enjoyable, exciting, and gratifying experience. Yet, make no mistake, paradoxically, it
is never a comfortable adventure. It needs perseverance. “There is nothing that cannot be
translated,” Joyce assures (qtd. in Ellmann, James Joyce 632). If translation is a never-ending process, it is by Joyce himself that we are willed to revamp our versions again and
again to ensure Bloom’s blooming Immortelles. Thus, this article gives a brief glimpse at
life with Joyce and Ulysses beneath the blueglancing immortality of his crozier and pen.
Subjects
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