The work of literary translators has often gone unrecognized—unless it is a bad translation. According to an article in a University of California Press journal, Global Perspectives, which cited a study of New York Times book reviews between 2008-2021, the portion of translated works as a percent of the US publishing market may have crept up to five percent. [1] This is a pitifully small percentage.

Drafting is the struggle to write like yourself and read like someone else.

The “write like yourself” part sounds easy until you become a writer. You’ll find it takes years of chipping away at a block of granite to find the authentic writer-self within.

I have emailed and texted myself when I have an idea and my phone, but not a piece of paper and pen. What I like best is the moment when the kids are at school, and I sit in my brown reclining chair with a cup of coffee and maybe a cat next to me, or somewhere nearby, and I have time to think deep thoughts. Those days are rare and precious.