Author's website Alexander Korotko

I would like to share my experience of working with translators. I believe that poets, not only poets, but most creative people, by nature, tend to be perfectionists. But as for poets, everyone who faces with translations of their works wants to get the perfect result and dreams that the translation does not discredit the original.

As my personal experience shows, it is almost impossible to achieve this with the existing traditional approach.

Firstly, in order to assess the quality of the translation, you must at least know the language into which you are being translated. Secondly, you should be aware of how much the translator not only understands what he is translating, but also how much he loves and admires your poetry.

Sorry for the pathos, but the translator should have a state of falling in love, I would even say more – passion, it should pursue him while he is working on the author’s creation.

But this, alas, is not enough, therefore a few thoughts from the field of the mystical, irrational. It is desirable, that the stars converge and the author’s personal acquaintance with his one and the only translator took place. And it is important that this acquaintance continues and develops until the translation is completed. Fortunately, today’s means of communication allow you to do this.

Relationships between people, they either add up or do not add up – it’s like love at first sight. It is necessary for everything to work out. Only with such a combination, no matter how paradoxical it sounds, the author has a chance to get a translation, which will not differ from the original.

And in conclusion. I was so categorical in my reasoning because I have my own positive experience working with translators of the new generation.