Swallowing Mercury Archives

On 16 March we held our first workshop about literature in translation at Broughton High School in Edinburgh.

The opening of ‘Sour Cherries’, a chapter from Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg, was read out in Polish by one of the students, followed by the chapter in Eliza Marciniak’s English translation. A lively discussion ensued about the subject of the story, and on literary translation in general. The students (S2, 12-13 years old) found it easy to identify with the main protagonist. They understood her emotions, as she was of a similar age, but her way of life, in the Polish countryside in early 1980s, seemed very different from theirs. Lots of hands were raised, interesting answers were given and insightful points made.

Small items of Polish food specialities were handed out as prizes for great participation. The teacher was pleased with the workshop; it was a welcome addition to a regular French class. Seven students who were interested in reading the whole book were offered copies supplied by Granta Publications. The Polish original has been sent to the school in an e-book format, while the three paper copies are going by post to the school library, courtesy of the Polish publisher Wydawnictwo Czarne.

We believe that meetings about Polish literature in English translation (as well as translation from other languages) will have a positive effect on readership and on the understanding of other nationalities and their cultures, helping to develop tolerance and social integration.

For the whole hour of the ‘Outsiders’ session at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Monday 14 August, we wondered if Wioletta Greg would show up or not. Our heads turned automatically each time a shadow passed behind the two glass doors, hoping it might be her. To our great disappointment, however, she did not materialize.

Nick Barley, the Director of EIBF, who was chairing the session, told us that she was in Edinburgh and that he expected her to arrive any minute. Greg’s interpreter was on stage, along with the author Edouard Louis, with whom Greg had been paired for this session. Edouard took full advantage of the additional time available and gave us a fascinating inside into his working class background, family life, his metamorphosis and his view of the world. He spoke especially of the lack of understanding of the working class majority by the middle class minority, and of the fear, aggression and violence which are, according to him, an inherent part of the lives of poor working class people across the world.

Unfortunately there was no comparison made between his novel and Greg’s, very different in their style and the author’s perception of the world. Edouard read, in English, a passage of his book The End of Eddy, while Nick Barley gave a French reading of the same extract. Greg’s interpreter read from Swallowing Mercury in English, but nobody read it in Polish. Personally, I would have preferred to hear Edouard Louis reading his own French text, and the Polish interpreter reading Swallowing Mercury in her native Polish, as Greg wasn’t there to read it herself. It is important to hear the music of a foreign language read by a native speaker, rather than a non native speaker struggling to do so. I would still like to know what the point of the reversal was.

A Dutch lady, sitting next to me, had travelled all the way from near Dunkeld to hear Wioletta Greg. Her daughter-in-law is Polish, and she was hoping to learn about good Polish contemporary literature. There was six of us from Zielony Balonik, the Scottish Polish Book Club. We had all read Swallowing Mercury, some of us in Polish and some in English, and we were truly surprised and disappointed that Greg did not show up and had not communicated with the organisers. The only consolation is that we have discovered a great new French author!

Grażyna Fremi

Tag: Swallowing Mercury

Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg in Edinburgh’s Broughton High School

Where is Wioletta Greg?