Siri Hustvedt on Translation

„Because I have translated myself, I am deeply aware of the fact that the translator must reinvent the work in the other language. What is essential is that a book is read, not as a translation, but as a work that was written in the second language. […]
I think of the profession with profound admiration. I think of all the books I have read, which would have been unavailable to me had they not been translated into English. Without translation, my literary life would have been greatly impoverished. I would have developed another mind altogether. I also feel ashamed about the tiny number of books in translation that are brought out in the U.S. by major publishers every year. This is a sign of both American arrogance and provincialism. And yet, writers continue to write all over the world, and translation goes on. I am deeply grateful to my translators for remaking my work into their own languages.“

Siri Hustvedt bei Authors and Translators. (Was sowieso eine ganz wunderbare Sache ist, aber das sagte ich schon.)