Since the publication of her now classic book Eros the Bittersweet a quarter century ago, Anne Carson has become one of the most acclaimed classicists, translators, poets and essayists of her generation. In one of her most acclaimed translations, If Not, Winter, Ms. Carson translated and presented the complete works of Sappho, including the fragments, revealing what has been lost as well as what was written in a way that is striking, showing Sapphos genius as a poet but also serving as a reminder of what has been lost to time.
Ms. Carson is also a noted poet and essayist who writes about love and desire, longing and despair, heartbreak, what has been lost and how we fill those voids that have been left in our lives. In Autobiography of Red, a novel in verse, she retells the myth of Herakles tenth labor where he slays the monster Geryon. In Ms. Carsons contemporary telling, Herakles steals the boys innocence and breaks his heart. In her recent book Nox, she tackled a much more personal subject, her relationship with her late brother and his death, composing a hauntingly beautiful book that certainly stands as one of the great books about grief.
Ms. Carson also achieved pop culture notoriety when in the first episode of The L Word, a discussion of Carsons work became an elaborate seduction scene. That a book about love in ancient Greek literature could serve as such a catalyst is odd enough but that Ms. Carson could be mentioned by name makes her the rare writer and public intellectual with a reputation to be so noted. Given all that, it seems in poor taste to note that the characters in The L Word largely misunderstood the book.
Her most recent book is Antigonick. A translation of the classic play by Sophokles, the book, published by New Directions, is one of the best designed books of the year and a unique reading experience. Ms. Carson hand-lettered the text of the play, which isnt presented like most plays but incorporated within pages of artwork. Like her previous book, Nox, Antigonick is a unique book and a reading experience that cant be replicated electronically.
Ms. Carson was kind enough to agree to speak with us about the book and her work and we exchanged a series of emails in which she demonstrated that her passion for literature and the Greek classics has not dimmed, but that she is uninterested in discussing personal topics. Despite her lack of interest, she did answer the questions. As she said in response to a different question, Canadians are dutiful.
ALEX DUEBEN: In recent years youve been translating a lot of dramatic work, first the Euripides plays for the NYRB imprint, The Oresteia, and now Antigonick. Why have you been drawn to and interested by drama in recent years?
ANNE CARSON: These were all commissions. I have never in fact been much interested in drama but if someone asks me to do something, I generally do it. Canadians are dutiful.
AD: Where did the idea of translating Sophocles Antigone come from and could you talk a little about the decision to not simply translate the play but to rewrite it?
AC: To be honest, I don't see any "rewrite" going on. Everything I've done in the translation is an attempt to convey a move or shock or darkening that happens in the original text. This doesn't always mean reproducing the words and sentences of the original in their same order; but a play is (note etymology of "drama" from Greek DRAN "to do or act") a collection of actions or doings, this is what needs to be rendered from Greek into English. It's true Sophokles doesn't mention Hegel on the first page of Antigone, but he does refer to the long tradition of A's catastrophic family in order to remind his Greek audience of the legend and for us, in 2012, the Antigone legend includes Hegel.
AD: Do you think about how the play could be performed, or at least how the language could be spoken as opposed to read when you translate a play?
AC: Yes, every minute.
AD: Talk a little about Nick. Why do you create this character and how do you feel Nick helps to illuminate the themes and ideas of the play?
AC: 1. Nick measures things. Most Greek tragedies are about a person who is too big for the space of life allotted to him. Excess leads to catastrophe. The need to avoid excess hums through these plays as a constant anxiety.
2. A mute character who moves all the time is a free space of invention for whoever directs/produces the play. It could be funny, it could be lyrical, it could be a whole other dramatization of tensions, depending how you stage it.
AD: How personal a book do you feel Antigonick is?
AC: Not sure what this means.
AD: Your last book published was Nox, which was about your own personal grief and then you translated Antigonick which is about, among many other things, what remains after the death of someone and what we bring to that experience and our responsibility to the dead. Having said that, I think much of your work deals with this topic: what has been lost, whether through death or heartbreak or loss, how we cope and understand the holes in our lives.
AC: You could say that. Idon't think I know why.
AD: I cant help but think of Antigonick as a relative in some ways to your last book, Nox, which I loved. And theyre both books created by someone who is a designer. You studied graphic design, is that correct?
AC: No, I know nothing of graphic design. I studied it for half a year once and flunked out.The design of both books is owed to Robert Currie, my friend and collaborator.
AD: I know that youre a visual artist. Why didnt you illustrate the book yourself?
AC: [Robert] Currie and I wanted to give someone else a chance, then we met Bianca Stone and liked her work.
AD: How did you meet Bianca Stone?
AC: Bianca was a student of Currie's and mine in our workshop Egocircus at NYU a few years ago.
AD: Why did you chose to hand letter the book instead of using a font?
AC: For vitality and intimacy and to slow down the reading. Also fun to do.Currie pencilled the text first, I went over it in ink - his part was way harder.
AD: What first drew you to studying the classics?
AC: The incomparable beauty and endlessness of Greek.
AD: I remember in an interview a few years back after Grief Lessons came out, you mentioned that you didnt like Euripides, who wrote a play Antigone thats largely been lost. You know far more about this than I, but having translated Sophokles and Euripides, Im curious how you thought of them and how they tackled the same tale.
AC: I can't answer this question without doing a lot of research, as I'm not familiar with the ancient resume of the Antigone by Euripides. It is indeed a big topic, the different angles that Sophokles and Euripides take on tragic projects, but in general I would say that Sophokles is deeply interested in language and Euripides is not. For Euripides language is a means to an end, the end being a spectacular speedy plot line andcrashing confrontations. As a translator you cannot travel into the language of Euripides, and you can that of Sophokles. In Sophokles every word is a universe.
AD: After translating so much tragedy, have you ever considered translating a comedic work?
AC: I dislike comedy; never get the jokes. True for TV as well as ancient lit.
AD: You once said in an interview, Homer's a poet. I would say I make things. Why dont you think of yourself as a writer? Or has that changed over the years?
AC: Hasn't changed.
AD: Whats on your desk now? What are you working on?
AC: I am translating Euripides Bakkhai for the Alameida theater in London.
AD: If someone reading this is intrigued to pick up not just your work but something from the classic tradition, is there a book or an author or a translation you would recommend?
AC: All translations by Christopher Logue and Memorial by Alice Oswald.
Ms. Carson is also a noted poet and essayist who writes about love and desire, longing and despair, heartbreak, what has been lost and how we fill those voids that have been left in our lives. In Autobiography of Red, a novel in verse, she retells the myth of Herakles tenth labor where he slays the monster Geryon. In Ms. Carsons contemporary telling, Herakles steals the boys innocence and breaks his heart. In her recent book Nox, she tackled a much more personal subject, her relationship with her late brother and his death, composing a hauntingly beautiful book that certainly stands as one of the great books about grief.
Ms. Carson also achieved pop culture notoriety when in the first episode of The L Word, a discussion of Carsons work became an elaborate seduction scene. That a book about love in ancient Greek literature could serve as such a catalyst is odd enough but that Ms. Carson could be mentioned by name makes her the rare writer and public intellectual with a reputation to be so noted. Given all that, it seems in poor taste to note that the characters in The L Word largely misunderstood the book.
Her most recent book is Antigonick. A translation of the classic play by Sophokles, the book, published by New Directions, is one of the best designed books of the year and a unique reading experience. Ms. Carson hand-lettered the text of the play, which isnt presented like most plays but incorporated within pages of artwork. Like her previous book, Nox, Antigonick is a unique book and a reading experience that cant be replicated electronically.
Ms. Carson was kind enough to agree to speak with us about the book and her work and we exchanged a series of emails in which she demonstrated that her passion for literature and the Greek classics has not dimmed, but that she is uninterested in discussing personal topics. Despite her lack of interest, she did answer the questions. As she said in response to a different question, Canadians are dutiful.
ALEX DUEBEN: In recent years youve been translating a lot of dramatic work, first the Euripides plays for the NYRB imprint, The Oresteia, and now Antigonick. Why have you been drawn to and interested by drama in recent years?
ANNE CARSON: These were all commissions. I have never in fact been much interested in drama but if someone asks me to do something, I generally do it. Canadians are dutiful.
AD: Where did the idea of translating Sophocles Antigone come from and could you talk a little about the decision to not simply translate the play but to rewrite it?
AC: To be honest, I don't see any "rewrite" going on. Everything I've done in the translation is an attempt to convey a move or shock or darkening that happens in the original text. This doesn't always mean reproducing the words and sentences of the original in their same order; but a play is (note etymology of "drama" from Greek DRAN "to do or act") a collection of actions or doings, this is what needs to be rendered from Greek into English. It's true Sophokles doesn't mention Hegel on the first page of Antigone, but he does refer to the long tradition of A's catastrophic family in order to remind his Greek audience of the legend and for us, in 2012, the Antigone legend includes Hegel.
AD: Do you think about how the play could be performed, or at least how the language could be spoken as opposed to read when you translate a play?
AC: Yes, every minute.
AD: Talk a little about Nick. Why do you create this character and how do you feel Nick helps to illuminate the themes and ideas of the play?
AC: 1. Nick measures things. Most Greek tragedies are about a person who is too big for the space of life allotted to him. Excess leads to catastrophe. The need to avoid excess hums through these plays as a constant anxiety.
2. A mute character who moves all the time is a free space of invention for whoever directs/produces the play. It could be funny, it could be lyrical, it could be a whole other dramatization of tensions, depending how you stage it.
AD: How personal a book do you feel Antigonick is?
AC: Not sure what this means.
AD: Your last book published was Nox, which was about your own personal grief and then you translated Antigonick which is about, among many other things, what remains after the death of someone and what we bring to that experience and our responsibility to the dead. Having said that, I think much of your work deals with this topic: what has been lost, whether through death or heartbreak or loss, how we cope and understand the holes in our lives.
AC: You could say that. Idon't think I know why.
AD: I cant help but think of Antigonick as a relative in some ways to your last book, Nox, which I loved. And theyre both books created by someone who is a designer. You studied graphic design, is that correct?
AC: No, I know nothing of graphic design. I studied it for half a year once and flunked out.The design of both books is owed to Robert Currie, my friend and collaborator.
AD: I know that youre a visual artist. Why didnt you illustrate the book yourself?
AC: [Robert] Currie and I wanted to give someone else a chance, then we met Bianca Stone and liked her work.
AD: How did you meet Bianca Stone?
AC: Bianca was a student of Currie's and mine in our workshop Egocircus at NYU a few years ago.
AD: Why did you chose to hand letter the book instead of using a font?
AC: For vitality and intimacy and to slow down the reading. Also fun to do.Currie pencilled the text first, I went over it in ink - his part was way harder.
AD: What first drew you to studying the classics?
AC: The incomparable beauty and endlessness of Greek.
AD: I remember in an interview a few years back after Grief Lessons came out, you mentioned that you didnt like Euripides, who wrote a play Antigone thats largely been lost. You know far more about this than I, but having translated Sophokles and Euripides, Im curious how you thought of them and how they tackled the same tale.
AC: I can't answer this question without doing a lot of research, as I'm not familiar with the ancient resume of the Antigone by Euripides. It is indeed a big topic, the different angles that Sophokles and Euripides take on tragic projects, but in general I would say that Sophokles is deeply interested in language and Euripides is not. For Euripides language is a means to an end, the end being a spectacular speedy plot line andcrashing confrontations. As a translator you cannot travel into the language of Euripides, and you can that of Sophokles. In Sophokles every word is a universe.
AD: After translating so much tragedy, have you ever considered translating a comedic work?
AC: I dislike comedy; never get the jokes. True for TV as well as ancient lit.
AD: You once said in an interview, Homer's a poet. I would say I make things. Why dont you think of yourself as a writer? Or has that changed over the years?
AC: Hasn't changed.
AD: Whats on your desk now? What are you working on?
AC: I am translating Euripides Bakkhai for the Alameida theater in London.
AD: If someone reading this is intrigued to pick up not just your work but something from the classic tradition, is there a book or an author or a translation you would recommend?
AC: All translations by Christopher Logue and Memorial by Alice Oswald.