Visual Translation

Chip Kidd's TED Talk, "The hilarious art of book design," is particularly fascinating to me when I consider children's literature. He calls book design, a haiku, a "distillation," and a translation of the book's content. I hadn't really considered it, but truly, art is a visual translation of one's own understanding of a concept. I also appreciated Jhumpa Lahiri's addition that visuals are cultural, and presentation is precious. In translating children's literature, not only does a translator have to consider the child reader's understanding of words and phrases, but they also have to consider the child non-reader's understanding of the visual elements of the story. I am adding small visual representations of the poems I am translating, and will take into account that much like the words, the visuals are also translating my own understanding from one culture to another. The beauty of doing this with children's literature, though, is the trust that what is not understood can be learned.

- Lila