Anna

It's been a year since I saw Anna alive for the last time. I visited her twice last October. She looked so thin, so fragile and at the same time so beautiful. No wrinkles! (yes! the illness magically wiped out the wrinkles from her face.) On my first visit she was wearing a light olive kashmir sweater, olive cargo pants and a scarf on her bald head. Elegant as ever. I did not stay long then, as she was expecting some other friend. On my second visit though I stayed the whole day. We exchanged presents: I gave her pijamas, small woolen hats and a calendar for 2010, she gave me her newest translations. In the afternoon Paweł and Kuba came from school, and the three of them had soup cooked by a helpful neighbor. Anna was afraid she would not be able to retain it, and in fact, as soon as she finished eating she rushed to the bathroom, but few minutes later she came back smiling and triumphant. "I've kept it!" This evening meant to be happy. We all were seating around the table next to her bed, the boys were telling us funny stories from their schools, Anna was talking about Piotr's planned Christmas visit, and how she would not let him smoke inside. She was her old self. We laughed a lot, and I kept thinking „Verweile doch, du bist so schön…“  If only we could stop time. If only.  Anna died on November 17, 2009. 

"My" Gloria Steinem

My generation had Doris Day as a role model, then Gloria Steinem—then Princess Diana. We are the most confused generation.  

- Erica Jong

Many years ago, when I was trying my hand at literary translations, a female editor from “World Literature”, a monthly literary magazine in Poland, asked me to translate an article from Ms. magazine: “Alice Walker: Do You Know This Woman? She Knows You", by Gloria Steinem.  At that time (in 1988) I knew very little about Alice Walker, had no idea who Gloria Steinem was, and had never heard of Zora Neale Hurston. This small assignment opened a new world to me. I knew that from now on these three women would be on my reading list. I admit that I did not fully understand which equality Gloria Steinem was talking about. I lived in a Communist country where all people, men and women, were presumably equal, at least legally. The biological inequality with its consequences in terms of employment and earnings, as well as the household duties, seemed natural and obvious - something you didn’t question. I was confused.

     I started translating poets then unknown in Poland, such as Erica Jong and Anne Sexton; I wrote about Sylvia Plath and Lillian Hellman and did an afterword to the Polish translation of "Any Woman's Blues" by Erica Jong. Gradually I became a feminist myself, which was not difficult for me as my dad had brought me up to be an independent woman.

     Many years later, when my husband Ed and I were living in California in 2000, Gloria Steinem was to give a talk at Notre Dame University in Belmont. He and I went together to hear her; there was an anti-abortion/anti-Steinem demonstration in front of the university, but the great hall was full. The audience consisted mostly of women, although it did include some older men, respected university professors, judging by their appearance. I do not remember the talk, only some questions from the audience, and Ms. Steinem’s answers. When asked about Elizabeth Dole, who ran for the Republican nomination in the U.S. presidential election, Gloria Steinem said "wrong woman, wrong message", and that Elizabeth Dole did not stand a chance. (We all thought the same.)  After the talk Gloria Steinem signed her books. I had brought "Revolution From Within" with me and meant to tell her about how I first came across her name, but being awfully shy and self-conscious, did not find enough courage to open my mouth, which I of course will regret for my lifetime unless I get another shot...

Immersion

           Postmodernism

Some twenty years ago or so I translated Donald Barthelme’s* novel "Paradise" into Polish, a “rated R” novel about a middle-aged architect living with three underwear models. The book was to be read in my translation on Polish public radio.  Anna Kołyszko who first introduced Barthelme to Polish readers** and  I were invited to say a few words about the author and the novel. The interview - or rather several short interviews - were broadcast a few days later, so I was able to tape it. A few months ago I stumbled across the tape. In this way, Monika-the-software-engineer who actually lives in the postmodern world was able to listen to her old self, Monika-the-literature-translator explaining the concept of postmodernism in literature on the radio. It felt very weird - like time travel. For the next few days I was disoriented and confused. After I had recovered from the identity crisis (if I have), I looked up the definition of “postmodernism” on the Internet.  "Postmodernity is said to be a culture of fragmentary sensations, eclectic nostalgia, disposable simulacra, and promiscuous superficiality, in which the traditionally valued qualities of depth, coherence, meaning, originality, and authenticity are evacuated or dissolved amid the random swirl of empty signals." Well, the Internet with its Facebook, YouTube, and blogs fits the definition perfectly. 

Another concept that comes to mind when I think about the Internet is "the medium is the message" and of course "the global village". Btw, does anybody still remember Marshall McLuhan, who was a kind of prophet to the Western World some thirty years ago?  According to McLuhan (who lived in the pre-internet era), the content is not important, the medium is; so whatever content we put in the Internet does not really matter - what matters is the Internet itself. That being said, let’s get happily immersed in the postmodern "random swirl of empty signals”.

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* Donald Barthelme  (1931 – 1989) - an American writer of postmodern short stories and novels. “Paradise” was published in 1986. 

** Anna Kołyszko (1953-2009) - one of the most eminent Polish translators of American contemporary literature. Her award-winning debut in 1981 was a translation of the  “Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts” by Donald Barthelme.