From the Editors

The word “see” is thought to be derived from the Proto-Indo-European sekw, “to follow,” from which we also get the Latin sequi. To see, initially, was to follow with the eyes. 

While putting together this issue, we reflected on all that translation allows us to see, in the various senses the word has acquired. To look; perceive mentally, understand; experience; visit; inspect, be attentive to; behold in the imagination or in a dream… Translation is the lens by which we can see through cultures, past borders, into languages, and across history. 

But seeing, like translation, is never neutral. Everything we “see” in the world is the product of a complex string of filtrations through our retinas, optic nerves, and visual cortices, much as everything we “see” in translation is filtered through the translator’s sensibilities, intentions, and decisions. Yet if seeing is fraught and potentially damaging, it can also be protective, an act of care: I see something in you; I’ll see to it; I’ll see you home.

We are thrilled to share with you the Fall 2022 issue of Exchanges, featuring translations by Narantsogt “Natso” Baatarkhuu, Walter Burgess and Marietta Morty, Anna Denzel, Bradley Harmon, Daniel Koehler, Samantha Farmer, Lakshmy Nair, Grant Schutzman, and Bänoo Zan.

Spanning genres, time periods, and styles, these nine translations from nine languages bear witness to historical calamities and moments of peace. They find meaning in the mundane and the exceptional, in this world and beyond it. They seek to see through things, or see things through.

Thank you again to all our contributors, and thank you to Gerardo Sámano Córdova, whose artwork provides us with a perfect, playful reminder to take a closer look.

 

Anna Magavern and Khaled Rajeh

December, 2022