Why I Translate

I translate for love.

I translate because there are so many good writers that the English-speaking world doesn't know about.

I translate for pleasure.

I translate to feel how the rhythms of another tongue can dance on my tongue.

I translate to discover something new.

I translate because English doesn't tell me everything.

I translate to understand.

I translate because words can make things happen.

I translate to keep my other self alive.  And the more languages I meet, the more selves I find.

I translate to travel - across time and space and bodies.

I translate to find someone who speaks to me.

I translate so you can find someone who speaks to you.

I translate poems and stories and songs, and words that like being words.

They're looking for you.