Veteran writer: Woe betides society if too many translations hit market

Javad Mohaghegh, children’s senior poet and writer, believes that novels should be a reflection of the society they address rather than disseminating elements of alien cultures.

IBNA: Speaking with IBNA, Mohaghegh stated that recently translated novels have sparked a lot of interest among younger readers in Iran.

“By and large, the greatest books of any culture are translated into other languages, and logically speaking, great books of the world’s literature well outnumber those published in one single country,” he said. “Winners of various international awards are translated into other languages. Naturally, when a work wins several awards it is more probably chosen for translation because they attract more readers.”

On the other hand, he argued, books written by Iranian authors fail to shed light on new cultural topics and deviate readers from Iranian novel and make them cling to books that have with them new topics as they are rampant in translated works. Even the names and events in translated novels can be attractive to readers.

He went on to assert that today the book market in Iran abounds with translated novels from different languages which can be culturally dangerous. “Only 60% of released works in the book market are authored in Iran and the rest are translations of other languages. The number of translated works is increasing in every society but it doesn’t mean that authored works would lose their market share. If the number of translated works increases uncontrollably in any society, it can impose a danger to the society’s national [and cultural] identity.”

He further criticized some Iranian novels as being misleading to readers for not containing any traces of Iranian culture, and said there are many novels written by domestic writers totally void of any domestic feelings; as an example, one never passes from a mosque in many novels. (Mosques play an important part in religious culture of Iranians). Or, for example, there are no mentions of Iranians’ cultural and religious events like the Ramadan or Ashura or many other religious rituals.

He further highlighted the necessity of needs analysis by authors before writing new works, and stated that authors should be wary of their readers’ needs and desires. “Most writers have almost no contact with their readers unless they are teachers [or university professors]. Writers should keep a close contact with their audience.”

Javad Mohaghegh is an active poet and journalist who was born in 1954 in Hamedan, Iran. He finished his elementary education in his home city and was hired by the Education Ministry.

In 1987 he was sent to Pakistan and then to Turkey to teach in Iranian schools outside of the country. After returning to Iran in 1990, he was appointed as the new editor in chief of a monthly by the ministry.