Interview with Poet and literary translator of the SITI’s 2018 ‘The Bacchae’ Dr. Aaron Poochigian
By Staff Writer Mina Yu ’22
1.) I noticed from your website bio that you had a doctorate in the Classics. What made you interested in pursuing the Classics and becoming a literary translator?
Source: Poetry
The poets I most admired in English when I was an undergraduate, Milton and Shelley, both had a Classical education, and I felt that, if I were going to compete with them as a poet, I would need the same education. That’s why I went on to the graduate study of Classics. Well, I got that Classical education and quite a bit more. I sort of “fell into” literary translation. In graduate school, I would try to make English versions of passages in Vergil and Homer that were as powerful, poetically, as the originals. I regarded them as “practice pieces” for my own work. The translations ended up taking on a life of their own and have become a consistent part of my career.
2.) Why did you decide to translate The Bacchae?
SITI used my translation of Aeschylus’ “Persians” for a run at the Getty in 2012. I knew that SITI would be invited back to do the “Bacchae,” so I slowly got my translation ready for that day. Beyond that, though, I did want a chance to put my own stamp on the character of Dionysus/The Stranger — its dangerous sexiness was intriguing to me. Would I be able to capture it in English?
3.) What was your general method or strategy in translating The Bacchae? Did you refer to any model translations?
Unlike the other major translations of “Bacchae,” my translation is in verse — that is, it is poetry. The original is formal poetry throughout, but most translators render it as prose or free-verse. I wanted to fuse the English verse-poetic tradition with the Ancient Greek one, and I feel I have done so. For the dialogue scenes I use, primarily, the iambic pentameter of Shakespeare and for the choral odes I use various off-rhymed stanzas that replicate that stanzaic structure of the original. Since I was translating into verse, other translations were not all that helpful, though I did occasionally find the mot just I was looking for in Esposito’s translation and in that of Nagy and Sens.
4.) How did this project compare to other projects you’ve worked on in the past?
While translating the “Bacchae,” I heard the voices of the characters in my head, even in my mouth, more clearly than with my other translations of Ancient Drama. I feel that, with this tragedy more than with the austere works of Aeschylus, the characters speak, both on the page and on stage, like living beings. So I guess, with this translation, the characters came more fully alive for me during the translation process.
5.) Does Euripides have any eccentricities in his writing style (or are there any eccentricities unique to Ancient Greek drama) that you find particularly interesting or challenging?
The Chorus — an essential element of Classical drama — is by far the most challenging “character” to bring over to the 21st Century. It’s just so artificial — groups of twelve or fifteen people going around speaking and singing in unison. I had to a create a special “lyric” space for them to inhabit — an artificial, magical space. I feel the incantatory quality of poetic rhythm and rhyme went a long toward creating that special realm. SITI, which is, I feel, the best “ensemble” Theater Company out there, perfectly grasped how to present the amoebic collective of the chorus to contemporary audiences.
6.) Were there any challenges that arose from adapting this ancient play for a modern audience?
Yes, in particular, for a live, theater audience. Whereas books of translation can have footnotes, my translation had to be immediately comprehensible. Every word had to land without any outside support. One good example of what I did was translate the cult-title of Dionysus, “Bromius,” as “The Roarer” or the “Roaring God” every time it appears, so that the theater audience would not need a footnote.
7.) What is your favorite scene or line from The Bacchae and why?
I am particularly fond of these lines from a Choral Ode:
Ecstasy is in the mountains when,
clad in the sacred garment, the fawnskin,
the god is running with his sacred band
and then just up and tumbles to the ground
while in pursuit of raw-flesh joy, a slain
goat’s blood. He dashes through the Phrygian
and Lydian mountains. Yes, the Roaring One
is leader of the dance! A-ha! Milk flows
among the grasses, red wine flows, the bees’
sweet nectar flows. Waving a torch of pine
that breathes the scent of Syrian frankincense,
the Bacchic God keeps urging idlers on
with his speed, foot-work and seductive chants,
all the while tossing to the upper air
his superabundant head of hair.
They do capture, I feel, Dionysiac ecstasy well: the mountain setting, the breathless frenzy, and the miraculous (the spontaneous jetting forth of milk, wine and honey.
8.) Could you describe the experience of watching your translation performed? What did you think of the staging and costumes of the play and how the actors/actresses interpreted their characters?
Let me tell you: hearing actors speak aloud words that Euripides and I composed has been one of the great joys of my life. I find the experience intoxicating. I was thoroughly pleased with the production. The costumes “translated” the original in the same way as my text does. Regarding the effectiveness of the performances, I remember telling Stephen Duffy (the actor who played Cadmus) that this is the first production of an Ancient Play I have ever seen in which every word landed — I felt every word coming across and reaching the audience. Often, when attending a production of Classical drama, one gets lost in blah, blah, blah and masses of whirling words, but I never had that vague “lost” feeling when watching our production.
9.) How would you describe the role of a literary translator? For example, do you view the translator as someone bound to faithfully transcribe the intentions and affectations of a particular author or as a more vocal, creative force, or something in between?
I regard the literary translator as a spiritual medium who is “possessed” by the author he is translating. Euripides, for example, took over my body, my memories, my various skills. He wanted his work to be as powerful in 21st Century America as it was in 5th Century BC Athens, so he made me use everything I had inside me. He wanted the incantatory power of poetry for the dialogue and speeches, so I gave him verse. He wanted the choral odes to sing, so I gave him song-lyrics. The literary translator is a writer who is willing to surrender his/her will.
10.) I also noticed from your bio that you are a poet. Do you think your poetry has influenced how you translate? How so or why not?
I am primarily a poet. Literary translation, to stick with my “spiritual medium” analogy, has allowed me to grow by containing, for a time, the great authors of the past — Sappho, for example, and Euripides. I feel I am a good literary translator because of the struggles I go through with my original work — trying to present, powerfully, what will be poignant to a contemporary audience.
11.) What advice would you have for aspiring writers and/or translators?
I would say that eventually writing becomes its own reward. I would love, of course, to be rich and famous but that would be mere desert. The main course for me is the pleasure of the daily practice of writing.