The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2022 - 25

I doggedly explored regions
of my throat I never knew
existed until they emerged,
by June, with the sound
I couldn't manage in
September at the start of
school. Speaking that " r, "
even when interpreting
brutality, can ground me
physically in something
beautiful that I found,
initially, hard. It reminds
me of times I've been
discouraged and considered
giving up.
Write your memories as well.
They make the undertones of
your particular music.
3 Between sessions,
keep your
interpreting instrument
in tune. If you already like
poetry, you can probably skip
this section. But if you're
indifferent to it, dislike it,
or simply feel intimidated,
letting bits of it into your
life for a few minutes, once
or twice a week, can ease
you into a way of hearing
language that may-over
the long term, indirectly but
powerfully-strengthen your
interpreting practice.
I've found that podcasts
make this process simple.
The two excellent podcasts
listed below can bring you a
wide range of contemporary
poetry in short episodes.
Typically, the host will read
one poem and discuss it
briefly, in an insightful, nontechnical
way that I almost
always learn from:
y The Slowdown, hosted by
Ada Limón. The website
includes links to episodes
by prior host, former U.S.
Poet Laureate Tracy K.
Smith, along with links
to additional resources,
including playlists.
www.ata-chronicle.online
y Poetry Unbound, hosted
by Pádraig Ó Tuama. One
15-minute episode is
released twice weekly.
Finally, while this isn't a
regular podcast, poet and
novelist Ocean Vuong's
extended discussion with
Krista Tippett (host of the
On Being podcast), entitled
" A Life Worthy of Our
Breath, " ranges through
themes of language, poetry,
the body, immigration,
displacement, and joy.
4 Don't memorize.
Learn by heart. If you
decide that you would like
to bring poetry even closer,
choose a short poem-
NOTES
1.
anything that speaks to you,
in any language, rhymed
or unrhymed-to learn by
heart. Notice I didn't say
" memorize, " though, yes,
it's the same thing. But
I like that " learning by
heart " captures how, in the
process of committing a
poem to memory so you can
say it out loud to yourself,
you bring it into your body.
Choose your poem carefully:
you'll have it forever, like a
third eye.
Our Story Is Our Weapon
Interpreting for immigrants
in the wake of trauma
requires us to carry-in
our bodies, our voices-the
stories of others. When these
stories haunt us, or when
they are harrowing, it's
essential that we make space,
somewhere in our lives, for
our own stories.
Ahmed learned to shape
his story into his weapon, to
protect and shield him as he
moved toward a new life. We
also, in our work, at times
need weapons, need shields.
Poetry, as an ancient art
rooted in the body, can help
us hear the muted rhythms
of our voices tracing the
shapes of our stories. When
we're at our most vulnerable,
poetry can help steady us for
our ongoing work.
The names and identifying details of former clients have been changed to protect confidentiality.
In addition, asylum seekers like Ahmed whose stories formed the basis for my book, Second
Tongue, were read the text aloud, in French, and provided written consent to publication. All
profits from the sale of the book are being shared equally with my former clients.
2.
Fontes, Lisa Aronson. Interviewing Clients across Cultures: A Practitioner's Guide (The Guilford
Press, 2008), 162-163.
3.
" Vicarious Trauma and Language Professionals " (an ATA webinar presented by Ludmila
Golovine on February 15, 2022).
4.
" Life of a Poet: Ada Limón, " an interview by Ron Charles (Library of Congress video, January
31, 2019).
5.
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., a clinician, researcher, and educator best known for his work on the
effects and treatment of trauma, confirms that " [w]riting experiments from around the world...
consistently show that writing about upsetting events improves physical and mental health. "
See van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of
Trauma (Penguin Books, 2014), 242-243.
6.
Bessel van der Kolk vividly describes how rituals of collective rhythm-expressed in music, dance,
and theater as ways of " keeping together in time " -have helped veterans and others heal (See
van der Kolk, Bessel. Body Keeps the Score, 335). Bruce Perry, M.D., a teacher, clinician, and
researcher in children's mental health and the neurosciences, writes that " [r]hythm is essential to
a healthy body and a healthy mind. " Perry, Bruce D., and Oprah Winfrey. What Happened to
You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing (Flatiron Books, 2021), 47.
Judith Small is a writer, educator, and 16-year member of the Volunteer
Interpreters' Panel of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco
Bay Area. Her award-winning book of poems, Second Tongue, interweaves asylum
seekers' narratives from Algeria and Guinea with her voice as their interpreter. Her
writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker. She
has 37 years of experience as a senior corporate paralegal at leading San Francisco law firms.
She has a degree in Romance languages from Oberlin College and master's degrees from San
Francisco State and Harvard. jdsmall770@gmail.com
American Translators Association 25

https://onbeing.org/series/poetry-unbound https://onbeing.org/programs/ocean-vuong-a-life-worthy-of-our-breath-2022/ https://onbeing.org/programs/ocean-vuong-a-life-worthy-of-our-breath-2022/ https://judithsmall.com/secondtongue https://judithsmall.com/secondtongue https://www.amazon.com/Interviewing-Clients-across-Cultures-Practitioners/dp/1606234056 https://www.amazon.com/Interviewing-Clients-across-Cultures-Practitioners/dp/1606234056 https://www.atanet.org/event/vicarious-trauma-and-language-professionals/ https://www.atanet.org/event/vicarious-trauma-and-language-professionals/ https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-8686/ https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-8686/ https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748 https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748 https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748 https://www.amazon.com/What-Happened-You-Understanding-Resilience/dp/1250223180 https://www.amazon.com/What-Happened-You-Understanding-Resilience/dp/1250223180 http://www.slowdownshow.org/ http://www.ata-chronicle.online

The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2022

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