by Ari Salgado
On Oct. 16 and 17, poet Derek Mong and translator Anne O. Fisher visited The College of Wooster for two readings sponsored by the College’s English Department.
Mong opened his reading with a poem about Wooster, written when he lived here while his wife Fisher was a visiting professor. He went on to read poems from two of his books “The Identity Thief” and “Other Romes,” and had a very unique approach to sharing his poetry. In between every emotional poem he explained what they meant to him and the story behind them. The reading gave incredible insight into how he finds inspiration, encouraging students to take inspiration from the small things in life and mix many different styles together in their writing.
“It inspired me to want to write more,” said Emma Harrison ’24. “It made me feel very nostalgic, especially how he opened with a poem about Wooster. Like, wow, all of these daily moments in my life can be very beautiful.”
Mong shared a variety of poems, ranging from poems about bees he translated from Latin to elegies about his struggle with his heart condition (AFib) and how it affects his parenting. He wrapped up the night by enthusiastically answering questions about his work.
Fisher had a panel the very next day, at which Mong was also present. She read a section from her book “Ukraine, Love, War,” which is a translated memoir originally in Russian by Olena Stiazhkina. The memoir was about the horrors of war and how it changes someone’s life completely.
The book was written with lots of humorous tones and Fisher explained how Stiazhkina had no regrets about adding levity to this serious memoir because it was true to the way she coped with the situation at the time. The second section she read was called “To be a man” and was told from the perspective of a young boy named Mischa who was 10 years old. He watched his father and uncle quarrel over a spot to fight the Russians, each expecting to be killed, and trying to save the other. They came up with the idea of flipping a coin so it would be completely fair, and Mischa ended up being the one flipping the coin. His Uncle tells him to lie and say that it landed on his side so Mischa’s father wouldn’t have to go to war. Misha feels guilty for this but respects his Uncle’s wishes.
Throughout the readings, Fisher stopped to explain jokes and references because of the difficulty of translating texts. At the end of the reading, Fisher answered questions. She spoke about how the conflict in Ukraine has shifted her field completely. Now, Russian translators need to be careful of what they are contributing to and ensuring they don’t spread imperialism. The war further affected her translation of “Ukraine, Love, War” because it caused Stiazhkina to not feel comfortable speaking Russian anymore. Supporting this idea meant that Fisher could no longer work with Stiazhkina. Fisher wrapped up the talk by speaking about how difficult it is to translate because some things don’t make sense in the other language or don’t have the same charm or humor.
Mong and Fisher’s insights into the intersections of inspiration, writing, translation and war gave students and faculty a lot to consider as they continue with their creative and academic endeavors. Missed these talks? Keep an eye on the English department for future events with visiting writers.