Behind the Scenes with the Foreign Language Admin

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Welcome to the second installment of Behind the Scenes. Each month, StormBringer23 and Edges-to-Everything take you past the Admin Area with a member (or three!) of our team to catch a glimpse of how DailyLitRecognition is run. This month, our interview is with the three Foreign Language Admins, wordeea, Malintra-Shadowmoon and ArtCrusade!


Questions



:iconwordeea:

wordeea accepts suggestions in French, with a focus on poetry. Her suggestion guidelines can be found on her profile page.


1. If a poem is submitted for consideration in both French and English, does the translation to English diminish the meaning and flow of the French?

No, not for DLR - for DLR all I take into consideration is the French, how the French flows, is written and its meaning, so I pay very little attention to the English, if at all. When not scouting or reviewing for DLR, I will take it into consideration if it was originally written in English - translation is what I do, so it is second nature to do so.

2. Do you find that some meanings just cannot be translated?

Yes. Absolutely. In both directions - and this is why I pay no attention to the English for DLR. I judge the French and only the French, not its *intention*. I have seen gorgeous original French poems being adapted/translated into English, without the adaptor knowing much French. The English result was different in meaning and intention, yet still gorgeous. - and vice-versa. My job is not to judge the translation as a Foreign Language Admin, but to judge the poem. Actually I have translated some of my own poems and the end result sometimes ends up with a different meaning in the other language. That's ok, as long as it flows and it is poetic.

3. What are your poetic pet-peeves? What would be sure to cause you to think, nah, next...

ahHA! I do not like affectation. I do not like poems with big words or "different' words for the sake of being different or using different words... I am not big on super obscure imagery on top of imagery, again, for the sake of being different. Imagery like million dollars words need to be used sparingly. Let's face it, poetry IS cliché in itself. Love is. A sunset is... describing it with big words won't make it less ... what makes me hold on and read more is when everyday things are described in everyday words with sensitivity and gut. I like to be punched in the stomach without realizing I was until the last word. No shock factor, just a "damn" *mouth wide open* moment and then go "Damn (yes again) I wish I would have written that."

4. Being a marathon runner, do you find artistic inspiration in exercise?

Half-marathon - I am not THAT crazy . Yes, actually, I do. Long distance running is hard physically but it is MUCH harder mentally. It is just so easy for your head to convince you to stop; so I often think of writing ideas when I run. I was actually thinking I should get headphones with an integrated mic again and record myself, because often times I forget my good flashes and ideas if I can't write them down when they come.


:iconmalintra-shadowmoon:

Malintra-Shadowmoon accepts suggestions in both French and German, with a focus on poetry. Her suggestion guidelines can be found on her profile page.


1. You accept DLR submissions for consideration in both German and French. Do you currently receive more suggestions in French or in German?

When I began my career as DLR admin at the end of April, I went to different German literature groups to advertise the DLR-project. The only suggestion I got was my first one, a German one. Then was deadline, but: When people do not come to me, I will come to the people. I am searching regularly dA for beautiful German/French works as well as go through works of watchers and friends and pick my faves. The more people I feature out off the cuff, the more people know that I will do them something good.
So to say: I try to keep the good balance between German and French, poetry and prose. Hope I managed that quite well up to now.


2. Do you favor positive, uplifting literature?

I like every kind of literature when it is written well, that means to me when I can feel and perceive it as I would be the protagonist myself. So, I take the opportunity to find out the message of the piece and with how much heart the author have worked it out. And I try to feel the author at the time of writing.
Of course, I prefer uplifting literature to melancholic or sad one. Writings are the mirrors or the author's soul. When the writing is encouraging, spiritual and positive, I can feel that the author is a stable person and has a joyful heart among other things.


3. Your dA Profile shows how active you are, displaying your many and varied interests and activities. In what other ways are you active in the dA community besides being a DLR Suggestion Admin?

There are really many way that are not all traceable. First off all, I try to help deviants in need on my homepage and also arrange to feature them in corresponding groups so that the audience is expanded and more people read and are ready to help. Nearly every literature piece I send to special literature groups to get them featured and commented to give them the feedback they deserve. When I find some new artists, I not only welcome, llama and watch them but also introduce them into literature/other groups and writer friends of mine so that they have the attention they deserve. Or I go through the forum and finding people in trouble in need. I try to support and encourage them. Regularly I am browsing the groups I am member in as well as the projects/contests forums, jump sometimes in in last second (I am a contest freak) and donate either points, llamas or features or all of the three. The night DLR account was created I also sent points for the kickstart :)
If people have questions, ask for comments, critiques, feedback they will get. I am open to listen and to delve into.


:iconartcrusade:

ArtCrusade accepts suggestions in German. Please visit his Guidelines page for specifics.


1. In your view, is the German language well-represented in the dA literature community?

To me, this sounds like a rhetorical question, which is quite unfortunate considering how beautiful the German language is, both in written and spoken word. There are various groups for German literature, but none of them are as buzzing and active as the English groups.

This is nothing surprising, of course, with English being the language best known on an international scale. From my personal experience, many Germans write in English, or only submit work in English on deviantART. I count myself to them.

2. Fellow Foreign Language Suggestion Admin :devmalintra-shadowmoon : also accepts suggestions in German. What should a suggester take into consideration when choosing to submit a German-language deviation to you rather than to her?

I like prose, but I have a huge affinity to poetry. I accept all kinds of genre, even romance. I myself write in all kinds of forms, so both traditional poetry and free verse are welcome.

I don't know what else to say.. I am completely unbiased.

3. You are a prolific writer on dA, and you publish a great deal of literature in English. Do you write more in English than in German?

Absolutely, nice catch! English grew on me much like a second skin! I wrote a handful of poems in German, mostly villanelles for my girlfriend since she doesn't speak English well - but around 99% of my writing is in English.

I believe that's what deviantART does to people. It 'internationalises' us. ;)


4. You enjoy reading the works of Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe among others. Do darker literary themes catch your attention more than others?

It depends on the subject. I find the style of Lovecraft and Poe fascinating, and dark fantasy has always been intriguing to me. But again: I am completely unbiased. What I am looking for in written word is originality, so try to avoid cliches and you are set to go.
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hopeburnsblue's avatar
hopeburnsblue
This is great! As someone who has dabbled in a little foreign language here and there, but isn't fluent, I am intrigued to see pieces written in other languages, even though I may only be able to decipher them to a certain point, because it's good that we have at least some foreign language representation in an English-centric community. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but I do like the idea of people being able to express themselves in whichever language they wish, yet still receive recognition. Perhaps I look at it this way because I am a person with a disability--blindness in particular--and am in a sort of minority position, so when I find safe spaces for blind people or people with disabilities in general, it makes me happy, but what is the best is when there is access and integration into larger communities (so, disability representation). Anyway, this is somewhat tangential, but by the same principle I was pleased to see foreign language features here. Now I'm wondering--are there foreign language CV's as well? I feel like I should know the answer to this question but am still kind of a noob sometimes.

As far as pieces without English translation counterparts, I've thought to run them through Google Translate at times, but I remember how it used to butcher things when I'd write in Spanish and check the coherence/backflow to English, so I never do. That's why I love when people go ahead and translate their work, because I can really get a feel for what they're wanting to say (WhitePlumFragrance is someone who comes to mind; she and I were actually just talking about this the other day when I featured one of her French-English pieces on Multhaiku's Twitter page). I never expect it, necessarily, but I'm always pleased when I encounter a translated piece--when a foreign language writer has the grace and the talent to take those extra steps, both as an enhancement to the art (like taking pictures of the same thing from different angles) and a window of understanding for my ignorance.

I love Malintra-Shadowmoon's points about how to help other lit comm members in public and behind-the-scenes ways. I am exactly the same way. Ditto Wordeea going on runs for inspiration ... I totally do this and can't wait to get back to it once I've healed up.

Anyway, sorry, longest comment ever ... but I found this feature very informative and fascinating. :)