2008 Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA

Conference Report

by Jay Prosser, Leeds University, UK

IABA reports as a rule now begin with remarks about location. Venues seem to have been chosen to work with the particular conference topic. On the crossroads of East and West, as much Asia as America and yet at same time its own seductive self, Hawai’i was no exception, for this year’s conference on Life Writing and Translation. Second in the mode comes the reporter’s confession. With the accepted papers and therefore simultaneous panels ever increasing, it becomes harder to know what to attend. Determined to see Hawai’i and with my own interests in Chinatown and its Fukkienese origins – and, I must admit, wanting to make the most of superb beach life — I was conscious of all that I didn’t get to hear. And yet I heard enough to find this a stimulating and exciting conference, thoughtfully organized and welcomingly hosted by Craig Howes and his University of Hawai’i colleagues.

Autobiography and translation were most strongly linked during the keynote panels, which this year consisted of different speakers’ ten-minutes each of eminently citable and epigrammatic thoughts. Bella Brodzki paralleled autobiography and translation by suggesting that each involved a transposition of experience, a refashioning of original text. Every autobiographer is a translator, and indeed humans would not have exceeded their biological context if not for translation. Mary Besmeres likewise emphasized that translation underlies every human activity, that translation is ongoing even in the individual. Zhao Baisheng, reminding us that Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior and China Men were written in Hawai’i, described these works as exemplifying translation’s aesthetic of juxtaposition — fiction with nonfiction, biography with the imaginary. Certain moments at the conference staged translation, most notably the opening plenary of Philippe Lejeune in wonderful double act with his translator, retired professor of French at the University of Hawai’i Jean Toyama. Lejeune’s ‘Le moi est-il international’ unveiled the (lack of) rationale in what lives have been translated and, of course, most that haven’t. Beginning characteristically with a confession of his own ignorance and linguistic incapacities, Lejeune led us to a recognition of what can’t be done by the individual which must therefore be conducted by the collective. And every act of translation is of course collective and collaborative.

The collective seemed symptomized by the event. Translation was at work in the exchange of personal histories, the internationalness of speakers and their topics, their geographical affiliations and languages, and their research and teaching across often multiple fields. Israeli poet Azila Talit Reisnberger’s A Life in Translation, a copy to be found on the book display stand until she so kindly gave it to me after I admired it, movingly captured — in its themes of motherhood and daughterhood, intimacy and solitude, the body and the spirit, and language — the livedness for many of translation.

Hawai’i was the pivotal presence, the hub for our different spokes. In the keynote panel ‘Cross Cultures, Cross Purposes’ Noelani Arista told the powerful story of colonizer William Buckle, his native Hawai’ian mistress, Loeki, and their child. Questioning simplistic assumptions about what might count as autobiographical narrative, Arista found the ‘small voice’ of Loeki in this genealogy of her child. Noenoe Silva discussed Hawai’i’s intellectual ancestors and emphasized the pre-existence of the written tradition before Hawai’i’s annexation. And a group of Hawai’ian artists and performers in their show ‘Pacific People: An Evening of Telling Lives’ gave us a rich sampling of Hawai’ian poetry, storytelling and Hula.

One of the most productive and properly conference moments came as the result of a question Zhao Baisheng asked Sidonie Smith, about where she saw the field of life writing going. In an immediate and typically informed response, Smith mentioned three main areas: digitization; witnessing; and the emergence of different genres. The importance of digitization was evident at the conference in discussions of how new technologies are shaping subjectivity and its representation. In a talk that was at once performative and meditative, touching on Zen and John Cage, Johannes Klabbers considered whether sound is more indexical than the visual and if computers can work to mediate the self. He played us one of his own software-made sound works, commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Services and complete with the bleating of Australian sheep (I’m not sure if they’d need translating for my local, Yorkshire breeds). From the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Linda Rubel and Rose Marie Toscano explored how technology is used to translate and often overwrite in troubling ways the autobiographical narratives of the deaf. Comparing traditional signed forms with new narratives that are written and those (enabled by cochlea implants) spoken, Rubel and Toscano suggested that there was a movement to sign-language autobiographies lost from the more static spoken and written versions. Voicing over and subtitling signed deaf narratives also seemed to detract from their authenticity, the self-‘writing.’ In a panel entitled ‘New Technologies and Genres,’ Paul John Eakin had fun unpacking the new gadgets for tracking the self’s experience. Eakin questioned whether technology leads to greater self-awareness or new selfhood, a ‘New Model Autobiographer 2010.’ He made a distinction between life logging and life writing, data versus memories. Selective, structured and dynamic, autobiography’s ‘truths,’ he suggested, come as much in its mistakes and fictions. On the same panel Tanya Kam read the digitized biographies of those involved in the Virginia Tech shooting. Computer, particularly Internet, facilities are allowing interactive biographies and a citizen’s or involved journalism. Finally Anna Poletti showed a clip from the film Tarnation and left us stunned with a young boy’s fictional performance of the true testimony of a battered woman. A material ‘technology of self’ tied to documentary, home video was here used for translation and performance of another’s story. Poletti asked the important question of how much new technologies are occasioning the production of testimony. Visual technologies were also in evidence with Laura Beard reading the photographs as testimony in the memoirs of a Jewish South American novelistic family album.

Witnessing did continue as a key thread. My fellow panelists, Nancy K. Miller and Brodzki, offered thoughts on what the text or reader misses as telling. Brodzki described how one particular chapter from Amos Oz’s A Tale of Love and Darkness, missing from the English translation, addressed to the reader and encapsulating the theme of irreparable loss, forms an integral part of Oz’s memoir. In the process of recovering but also writing about what she’s missing from her own family history, Miller remarked a trend in what she called the ‘post-personal,’ a move from the individual story to the collective. Rightly, then, we felt the influence of feminism at the conference. Sidonie Smith explained the importance of translation and transnationalism in her global feminisms project, a collection of oral histories of feminist activists across several countries. The model of globalization here is heterogeneous. Leigh Gilmore explored how life writers, particularly women, might deploy sentimentality for political ends. For example Harriet Jacobs entwines coming of age with coming to political consciousness through the figure of herself as ‘the girl.’ Alfred Horning told the narrative of his own journey through life writing, shaped by feminism, translation and internationalization. The title of one keynote panel, ‘Changing the Subject, Subject to Change,’ as Gilmore said during this session, had feminist resonance – the second part the title of Miller’s book on feminist criticism.

Different genres were in evidence in hybrid and new forms, a point echoed by Tom Couser who, in ‘Changing the Subject,’ suggested there had been an explosion of styles and subjects within life writing. Couser underlined how much Smith and her collaborator Julia Watson have expanded our terms for life writing. Following the keynote by Lejeune, Julie Rak and Jeremy Popkin spoke as the editors of Lejeune’s work on diaries and popular culture, soon to be released. Popkin considered the different disciplinary understandings of the diary. If historians have read diaries as fact, Lejeune’s work complicates the diary into a cultural object. Rak suggested that our understanding of Lejeune had got stuck in his 1970s structuralist definitions of the genre of autobiography. She reminded us that in the 1980s and 90s Lejeune’s work was a good deal about translation. His new work on the diary shows his interest in the everyday in a manner that bears comparison with the work of Michel de Certeau and Michel Foucault. For Rak, Lejeune was not simply a formalist but a historicist whose writings are important for the study of life writing in popular culture.

The conference developed new approaches to life writing. There was analysis of expert writing on life writing, of the life writing elements of New Age self-help discourse. Margaretta Jolly gave us ‘narrative therapy.’ Gillian Whitlock extended her thoughts on posthuman autobiography, suggesting that a critique of the humanist subject exists in life writing and conversely that posthuman theory draws on autobiography — Jacques Derrida on his cat for example, Haraway in her use of subjectivity.

From the personal to the collective: I want to end with the institutional and an irony. Perhaps the most urgent talk came from Susanna Egan, in her keynote on our collective need to work against the dearth of life writing posts for our graduate students and the underrating of our field’s journals by international research councils. The media and popular culture are currently fascinated by life writing, Egan noted, but engage in ‘soft thinking’ on the subject. We need to shore up this interest with our informed research and talk to new readers of life writing, even facilitate the composition of life writing. Given that life writing is still so marginal in our institutions, it is amazing – testimony to both IABA’s and life writing’s strengths – that this biennial conference goes ahead in spite of receiving no continuous external funding. We can look forward to IABA reconvening, under a different topic, in 2010, organized by Margaretta Jolly, at the University of Sussex. I can promise you that, whoever writes the report on that, they won’t be mentioning the beach life.

Conference Report

Tang Xiumin

Sixth International Biographical Literature Society will be held at the University of Hawaii in United States in 2008 June 23 to June 26. About 300 delegates from around the world attended the conference, the theme for the conference "Biographical Literature and Art of Translation," a lively presentations and extensive discussions, which involved showing the contents of the research focus and different cultures for biography The concept of two different translations of attention and understanding, reflecting the current progress in the international academic community biography research. The meeting by the Research Center of the University of Hawaii biography contractors, meeting do very well, as an organizer, Craig Howard Weiss (Craig Howes) Professor valuable.

American Michael Stella Turner (Michael Tratner) professor of speech "translation value: mercantilist economic theory and the various biographies of Pocahontas" (Translating Values: Mercantilist Economics and the Many "Biographys" of Pocahantas) from post-colonial theory to re-examine the perspective of a biography about the American Indian Pocahontas text, examines the white settlers how to use the "translation" behavior digestion Indian national character and national interests in the text of the biography of the discourse.

"The genius artist biopic Sex: Sex and the studio" (The Gender of Genius in Artists' Biopics: Sex and the Studio) is a professor of art history that the United States of Arizona State University, Zhu Li · F · Kauder (Julie F. Codell) statement. Kauder from the perspective of gender politics discussed biopic of gender discrimination, pointing out that often the male artist biopic showed extraordinary artistic achievement guru, but happy female artist living in unsatisfactory performance side. Her conclusion is that in the hegemonic society, gender differences prevented the female artist is "translated" into the artistic genius possible.

From New York Mary Louise (Mary Louise) an analysis of the "911" incident two picture text. Lewis believes that "911 Report: graphic adaptation of" representation in government documents with pictures form, intended to explain obscure political vocabulary, and public causes and consequences of the event itself, and the artist's comic book "In the shadow of no towers "The same is the product of culture, reflecting the same author's intention, therefore this form of graphic files and does not harm the seriousness of government documents, but also not affect the readers understanding of public policy intentions.

Nigerian scholar Amai Di (Dan Chima Amadi) combines biography and identity issues, to explore the country by writing a biography of the status quo, concluded that literary biography which should abide by the rules: not only entertain, but also educate the public. 杨宪明 Yangtze University (Yang Xianming) Mr. discussed from the perspective of the Internet in the form of Chinese biography rapid development in recent years. He believes that the Internet not only provides a new writing media, but also for the public to provide a new concept of "hero", the new performance method, expanding the boundaries of biographical writing. At the same time, the negative impact of the Internet Writing brings not be ignored, such as reduction in the level of the writing, the lack of mechanisms to enhance the social and moral education component and so on.

American University of Hawaii Allana Bell (Alana Bell) papers study the effects of the famous Canadian pianist Glenn Gould (Glenn Gould, 1932-1982) biography of the young people. By comparing the biography "struggle for excellence: the story of Glenn Gould" (Vladimir Konieczny, Struggling for Perfection: The Story of Glenn Gould ) and to Gould's award-winning story-based authoring biographical novel "The Master" (Tim Wynne-Jones, The Maestro ) two texts, Bell believes that writing a biography for young people focused on the expansion and implementation of identity, strengthen national identity and collective memory celebrity; while writing a biography for adults focuses on the achievements of psychology behind celebrity mining motivation.

Australian scholar Kate Douglas (Kate Douglas)'s thesis scars (trauma) biography. Her Australian documentary "Ien African man cooking school" ( Ayen's Cooking School for African Men , 2007) for the study of the text reveals the performance of the pain of a new narrative style, which does not directly render conflict, words are not intense, attitude is not excited take circuitous subtle narrative strategy. Performance skills on the biography of experiments from Australia Glenn Druze (Glenn D'Cruz) studied film biography of 2 "I was not there." He believes that director Todd Haynes (Todd Haynes) using the six main actors were playing pass the different stages of life in the film, including a 13-year-old African-American teenager and an Australian actress, In fact, in order to avoid having to pass the main image 007 years of Hollywood's most innovative elephant, while the performance of the film as a "presence" (Being), show the pass master multi-faceted nature of a place.

Xiu Min Tang (Tang Xiumin paper discusses the biography in translation "unfaithful" phenomenon from three aspects of cultural, ideological, market Representation Through Translation): "beyond the true portrait: Biographic Translation reproduction" (Beyond an Authentic Portrait that translation is a pity artistic biography.

U.S. West Virgina University of Timothy Multi Ai Adams (Timothy Dow Adams) Research Professor of American Sarah Sula Li (Sara Suleri) autobiography "day without meat" ( meatless Days , 1989 ), revealing autobiography through food, body and powerful political body triangle narrative structure, highlighting the contrast of the post-colonial era in Pakistan's politically charged personal life and social life.

Speaking theology professor John · D · Blubber (John D. Barbour) of "wandering and cultural translation" (Exile and Culture Translation) peruse the academic autobiography classic three wandering exile who: Said of "misfits" , Cabrera · Areva Mohammed (Leila Ahmed) "boundary channel" ( Border Passage , 1999) Carlos Ella (Carlos Eire) "wait Havana snow" ( Waiting for Snow in Havana , 2003). Blubber believes Rangers to their native land values ​​translate into a new environment to act in a way and exiled the Jews from around the world, or a similar African-American experience. Exile is the exiles to their homeland memories and nostalgia translated into new content, forming an integral part of personal identity, constitutes a symbol of autobiographical writing narrative strategies and their final values ​​and sense of responsibility.

Xu spoke German gold (Xu Dejin) Foreign Economic and Trade University professor, "Rousseau <Confessions> and its influence on contemporary Chinese literature repentance" (Rousseau's Confessions and Its Influence on Contemporary Chinese Confession Literature) by comparing the "Confessions" in China several different translations, discussed the enormous impact on Chinese contemporary classic autobiography writing biographies produced.

Peking Zhaobai Sheng (Zhao Baisheng)'s keynote address, "and set the effect: China Diary home to the interpretation of American life" (Juxtaposition Effect: Interpreting American Lives by Chinese Diarists) through research Hu and Wu Mi's diary reveals biographical diary and autobiographical juxtaposition effects. Caitlin Bray Rodriguez (Kaitlin Briggs) papers from the University of Maine American "caught Lin Language: Dorothy Dash gold <gap without expression> can not publish sex" (Caught in the Language Forest: The Unpublishability of Dorothy Dushkin's The Glassy Interval ) is to investigate the case of a failure to publish the diary. She believes that changing the diary of person is to change the subject diary, "there is no curtain between expressive" ( The Glassy Interval main reason) can not be published.

On the "Diary of Anne Frank" ( Diaries of Anne Frank discussions) continues. Suzanne · L · Bang Kesi (Suzanne L. Bunkers) paper "photocopy works: Diary of Anne Frank and Anne translation" (The Facsimiles Project: Translation and the Diaries of Anne Frank) for the Netherlands War Museum photocopy "Anne Frank Diary "work made ​​a detailed study that photocopying is to ensure the authenticity of the diary. Scholars from荷兰乌too Utrecht University, Department of History, Monica Josue Pavilion (Monica Soeting) argued that if the diary is simply seen as a real historical World War II, then misread the original intent of the author's diary and the diary itself nature. First, in 1947 published "Diary of Anne Frank" is not the original diary, but after modification process diary. Secondly, the "Diary of Anne Frank" in character "Kitty" and several other figures mentioned in the diary are characters in the novel. Thus, Monica believes that a variety of text versions of the "Diary of Anne Frank" can only be seen as a literary work, not as a historical instruments.

Speech at the University of British Columbia, Canada Laurie Mike Neil (Laurie NcNeill) of "Translation too: right <Diary of Anne Frank> the (mistaken) read and (mistakenly) with" (Gained in Translation: The (Mis) Reading and (Mis) Uses of The Diary of Anne Frank ) translation and cultural point of view from the perspective of the "Diary of Anne Frank." She believes that translation can generate more cultural significance, because linguistic translation and translation activities are divided into two levels of cultural translation. In the "Diary of Anne Frank" is widely circulated in various languages ​​in the public interest culture also plays an important role. In the public interest which, genre, market operation, and cultural values ​​play a major role.

Professor of history at the University of Kentucky, USA Jeremy Popkin (Jeremy Popkin) autobiographical diary demonstrates the importance for historians. He believes, like diaries and autobiographical fiction deposit with the ingredients. Historians should not have a tendency to re-light autobiographical diary.

University of Hawaii wins Hui · A · Reynolds (Katsue A. Reynolds) paper "translation Yoshida Shoin biography - royalists, or revolutionaries? "(Translating the Life of Yoshida Shoin -? A Nationalist or Revolutionary Leader) studied the letter and its translation Kai collar Meiji Restoration in Japan Yoshida Shoin's character that peruse Yoshida Shoin letters, you can understand the real Yoshida loose Yin.

G · Joseph Thomas library (G. Thomas Couser) of "intergenerational translation: children on the father's dementia narrative" to study the three on the care of the elderly suffering from amnesia father's memoirs, it is inevitable that such a biography with author's subjectivity, it is difficult to take a neutral, not a savior-type gesture.

Speak American Texas University of Technology (Laura J. Beard) through personal photos, family photos together autobiography and studied Spanish writer (Ana María Shua)'s biographical novel "Memoirs" (1998), reveals the various genres maintain their independence and continuity in a style of how difficult.

Marie Bi Smiles (Mary Besemeres) of "familiar and unfamiliar homeland: second / third generation memoir of cultural translation" explores the roots of different general Travels and Travels. In her view, if the general travel can be regarded as ethnography, second and third generation descendants of immigrants should be treated roots Travels autobiographical ethnography, because in such type of travel memoirs, we can often see to "the familiar strange," "misplaced deja vu" and so the word.

Speak Beijing University of Foreign Studies Sunjian Qiu (Sun Jianqiu) Professor "Edit voice" in her writing American female missionary Minnie Vautrin (Minnie Vautrin) memoirs experience, discusses the relationship between images and narrative that pictures only add a full description, to make it successful completion of the narrative function. Beijing Agricultural University of Zhong Yan (Zhong Yan) from the cultural perspective of the three Chinese-American biographical writing: daffodils memoirs, "a European Xinyu a Chinese" ( Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian , 1909 ), Wang snow "on a Chinese daughter" ( Fifth Chinese Daughter , 1950), and Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior", explores how the edge of their living culture of self-preservation, and integration into mainstream culture, the completion of the process of cultural translation .