Prefatory Remarks to Friday's Keynote Address

Thanking Everyone
Photo by Annie Cho

My colleague Annie Cho attended my keynote address Friday and took a picture to prove she was present, though this photo was a few minutes after I had thanked everybody:

True Translation – Prefatory Remarks

I'd like to offer a few words of thanks:

I'd first like to thank the LTI Korea President, Professor Kim Seong-Kon, for inviting me to give this keynote address.

I'd then like to thank the Literature Translation Institute of Korea itself for its support, not only at today's workshop but also in supplying translation grants to my wife and me over the past few years.

I'd also like to thank the Dalkey Archive Press for its professionalism and its role in publicizing Korean literature.

And I'd finally like to thank everyone in attendance today.

Additionally, I want to let everyone know that my talk is officially intended to focus attention on today’s theme of "The Role of Translators and Literary Agents in Globalizing Korean Literature" but is unofficially intended to be "about educating and nurturing culture and literature translators[, drawing upon my] . . . . experience and ideas about . . . practically working as a translator." Well, I will attempt to carry out both of these serious imperatives, albeit in a lighthearted way that attempts a bit of humor, but I realize that humor often doesn't cross cultural boundaries well, so if I say something that sounds strange, please forgive me, for it was probably meant to be humorous, and please feel free to laugh.

There weren't as many laughs as I'd expected, though Annie says she laughed:

Did you see me? Did you hear me laugh? I think I laughed 3 times. I got there at 10 a.m. and sat in the back and snuck out after the 2nd speaker. Sorry I was unable to say hello or meet your wife! The back of her head looked very nice :)

Great job with the speech! I'll see you next week!

She laughed only three times? Why not three times thirty-three? Annie! You were supposed to set the pace . . .