“Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural Poetry
In the context of the expanding discourse of transnational Asian American Studies, this essay studies Kimiko Hahn, particularly her engagement with East Asian traditions in her poetry, and shows how her work exemplifies a transcultural Asian American literature that requires reading beyond the domes...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2012-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Transnational American Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://escholarship.org/uc/item/35g046ww |
| _version_ | 1818999529972695040 |
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| author | Xiwen Mai |
| author_facet | Xiwen Mai |
| author_sort | Xiwen Mai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the context of the expanding discourse of transnational Asian American Studies, this essay studies Kimiko Hahn, particularly her engagement with East Asian traditions in her poetry, and shows how her work exemplifies a transcultural Asian American literature that requires reading beyond the domestic boundaries of the United States. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's and Gayatri Spivak’s translation studies, it examines how Hahn critiques the assimilationist representation of Asian women in translations of Asian texts such as Arthur Waley’s version of Lady Murasaki’s <em>The Tale of Genji</em>. It then reads how, based on her thoughts about literary translation, Hahn experiments with creative practices of “translation,” including a retranslation of Ezra Pound’s Chinese images and untranslation of <em>zuihitsu</em>. Rewriting Ezra Pound’s Chinese images, Hahn reconstructs women’s voice in ancient Chinese writings. Undoing the simplistic interpretation of the classical Japanese form<em> zuihitsu</em>, her restorative untranslation of the form makes connections between the discursive agency of ancient Asian women writers and contemporary women poets. Thus, Hahn’s translational writing reveals a poetics of “continental drift,” a poetics that calls attention to the necessity of reading Asian American literature in transnational and transcultural contexts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T22:18:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49d2a9f73d324d298450ee4eb0def584 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1940-0764 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T22:18:53Z |
| publishDate | 2012-06-01 |
| publisher | eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Transnational American Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-49d2a9f73d324d298450ee4eb0def5842022-12-21T19:24:58ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaJournal of Transnational American Studies1940-07642012-06-014110.5070/T841012828ark:13030/qt35g046ww“Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural PoetryXiwen MaiIn the context of the expanding discourse of transnational Asian American Studies, this essay studies Kimiko Hahn, particularly her engagement with East Asian traditions in her poetry, and shows how her work exemplifies a transcultural Asian American literature that requires reading beyond the domestic boundaries of the United States. Drawing on Walter Benjamin's and Gayatri Spivak’s translation studies, it examines how Hahn critiques the assimilationist representation of Asian women in translations of Asian texts such as Arthur Waley’s version of Lady Murasaki’s <em>The Tale of Genji</em>. It then reads how, based on her thoughts about literary translation, Hahn experiments with creative practices of “translation,” including a retranslation of Ezra Pound’s Chinese images and untranslation of <em>zuihitsu</em>. Rewriting Ezra Pound’s Chinese images, Hahn reconstructs women’s voice in ancient Chinese writings. Undoing the simplistic interpretation of the classical Japanese form<em> zuihitsu</em>, her restorative untranslation of the form makes connections between the discursive agency of ancient Asian women writers and contemporary women poets. Thus, Hahn’s translational writing reveals a poetics of “continental drift,” a poetics that calls attention to the necessity of reading Asian American literature in transnational and transcultural contexts.http://escholarship.org/uc/item/35g046wwkimiko hahnasian americanpoetrytranslationtransnationaltransculturalasian american studies |
| spellingShingle | Xiwen Mai “Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural Poetry Journal of Transnational American Studies kimiko hahn asian american poetry translation transnational transcultural asian american studies |
| title | “Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural Poetry |
| title_full | “Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural Poetry |
| title_fullStr | “Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural Poetry |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural Poetry |
| title_short | “Continental Drift”: Translation and Kimiko Hahn’s Transcultural Poetry |
| title_sort | continental drift translation and kimiko hahn s transcultural poetry |
| topic | kimiko hahn asian american poetry translation transnational transcultural asian american studies |
| url | http://escholarship.org/uc/item/35g046ww |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xiwenmai continentaldrifttranslationandkimikohahnstransculturalpoetry |