First of all, I’m quite excited about the prospect of having Carmen Rodriguez into the class to speak to us about her writing. The opportunity to listen to an author talk about their work is one that I always enjoy and is beneficial to my understanding of the piece.
I read the introduction to the book before the first story, and I must say, it gave me a bit of a negative impression. Did anyone else read the intro first as well? While her discussion of the process was engaging, Rodrigeuz came off a little self-congratulating, I felt. While writing a book, especially one as great as ‘and a body to remember with’ is a wonderful achievement, if she felt humility, it didn’t come across in the introduction. She writes about how she orginally hired professional translators, then decided to do it herself, as she (and others) felt she could do a better job. There is a strong emphasis on the amount of work required to translate the stories back and forth, until she “felt that both the tips of my tongue and my two sets of ears were satisfied with the final product.”
Personally, I guess I like to imagine that brilliant books just flow out of the pens of brilliant authors. Although I know that this untrue, I think that usually pride stops authors from detailing the vicissitudes and work involved in the creation of their pieces. I think of literature like ballet: the beauty comes from a difficult and skillful art appearing effortless. Is Rodriguez attempting to impress her readers with her description of endless translations and intensive effort?
Given the humility and self-deference she communicates throughout the rest of her stories, I doubt that the introduction was intended to be the ego-stroke it struck me as. An entirely different interpretation is possible: is Carmen Rodriguez, by detailing the writing process, humanizing herself into a figure the reader can relate to? Perhaps this is a way of showing her audience that she struggles just like they do, and thus her stories are relatable. Thoughts?