The solitude of a translator

Poet and translator Ion Milos has been living in Sweden since 1959. He is a Romanian born in the Serbian Banat and his cultural activity is impressive: 17 volumes published in Romanian, four in Swedish, four in Serbian and one in English. He translated seven books into Romanian, seven in French, and the list could go on.

– Where do you actually belong?

– I think that my place is where I chose it. I have three countries close to my heart: I was born in Yugoslavia to Romanian parents but I left a long time ago, I was almost kicked out…

-When did you leave?

– I left Yugoslavia in 1959. For 15 years I wasn’t able to visit my parents because I had been declared “an enemy of the people” due to an essay I wrote that criticised the Stalinist policy. My parents’ home is in Yugoslavia and I visit their graves twice a year. I couldn’t live there anymore though. I am well positioned as a writer in Sweden and this forces me somehow to remain. I was never well received in Romania. The Romanian State did nothing for me. Many institutions did their best to chase me away.

– When did you come to Romania first?

– I visited Romania for the first time in 1968. I believe this date tells you something. When I arrived I felt good. I thought it was a country of joy.

We are guilty for not being famous

– Have you found that state of mind again?

– Not now. Back then, material satisfaction brought joy. When I came in ’68, I was shaking with happiness. I was walking the land of my idols – Eminescu, Sadoveanu, Arghezi. I saw how little Romanian culture is known in Sweden and I wanted to do something for it. I started with painting and I organised a Constantin Piliuta display. It was well received. It did not matter to me if the artists were living in Romania or not as long as they were Romanian. I then organised an Ion Vlad display. He lived in Paris. I was constantly accused. The “exiled” Romanians accused me of being a collaborationist because I brought “communists” and the Romanians back in the country thought I was a traitor. I brought the first Romanian theatre to Sweden – the Comedy Theatre. The greatest success was “A stormy night.” However, three actors defected and I was accused again. I was no longer permitted to translate the play.

– Were you accused all the time?

– Radio “Europa Libera” said that by bringing one of Caragiale’s plays to Sweden I was advertising communist culture. All that I did was politically misinterpreted and things were bad. They remained bad until ’89. Romanians do not take into consideration the good deeds. They count only the political adherence. It does not matter if you are a patriot…

– Does this still happen today?

– Especially today. If we are not known in the world, it’s only our fault.

I was born a stranger

– Are we that bad?

– If you look at the names that got translated in Romanian culture you will notice that they belong to whoever had cultural power at a certain moment or other. It’s all about relations. If you’re my “pal” you get to be a personality. It stinks. What’s even more unfortunate is that Romanian writers who left the country have no interest in promoting Romanian culture abroad. Once they master the language of whatever country they’re in, they stop writing in Romanian. The cultural garden is filled with bad weeds

– Whom do we have to “prune”?

– Those who poison us.

– How does the Swedish character in your poetry fit with the Romanian language?

– My poems speak of courage that’s beyond borders and nationalities. I was born a stranger, I lived in many countries and I had to be better that the local poets. Poets no longer have the experience of pain – thus the poetry is rather weak. Poets write technically, with words, not with feelings.

– You are a specialist of words though

– Yes, but I am not a specialist in empty words. I am interested in the essence.