In His Own Words

As bloggers we glean bits and pieces of who we are by reading one anothers posts. Some bloggers are very open about themselves while others share very little of the intimate details of their lives. My friend Miroslav aka Dez The Hollywood Spy has a blog that provides exclusive information about movies and television. As a result, his 1.7 million readers know very little about the man behind the blog. In this series of interviews Miroslav will have a chance to do something he does not get to do on his own blog-tell us who he is, what he thinks and how he feels.

Miroslav resides in Serbia in the city of Subotica. Subotica is a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual city that combines the modern with the ancient.

While talking with Miroslav I discovered that he holds a degree in English with a minor in psychology. Professionally Miroslav is a professor of English and works as a translator of modern literature from English into Serbian. It was this last bit that intrigued me the most.

Anne: "Can you tell us a bit about the types of books you have translated" 

Miroslav:  In the three or four years of my career, I have translated around 30 books many of which are bestsellers.  This is quite an advantage for me because I have had the privilege of working on these books prior to their release in the U.S. and the U.K. 

Some of the books I have translated include popular bestsellers such as "Eragon", "True Blood", "Space Troopers",  and "Before I Go To Sleep."  Some of the historical novels I have worked on include "Gladiatrix", "Captain of Rome," "The Ship of Rome" and"Luminescent Life of Lilly Aphrodite",  I have also had the pleasure of working on some high quality literature such as Michaels Baigent's "Jesus Papers", Sarita Mandana's "Tiger Hills" and Jian Rong's "Wolf Totem" which won the Man's Award.

Anne: What do you find most gratifying and most challenging in your work as a translator"

Miroslav:  One of the most difficult qualities that one must posses is a wide base of general knowledge.  Without this I would be limited to working in a single genre.  A translator must be capable of conveying more than just the basic meaning of a text. You must also translate the hidden meanings, the poetical essence, the metaphors and the style of the book. This is particularly difficult as these are elements which go beyond the written word.

Creativity and imagination are the things I love most about this work.  It enables me to enter and explore different worlds with each new book. Thus I went from Roman ships to Mongolian steppes, from Elven forests to ancient arenas, from English castles to modern New York, from the exotic palaces of the sultan of Brunei to the luscious jungles of India, from vampire hideouts to Nai Germany and from pirate lairs to Sparta and Ithaca. Although it is long and difficult work, at times I shed a tear or two when the work is done and it is time to say goodbye to a particular book and the characters within it.

We'll continue our conversation with Miroslav next week with an exploration into his work as a bakery chef who is renowned for his specialty cakes and we will also discuss his policy regarding featuring films of an overly violent nature on his blog.  A topic that is most timely in light of the recent events in Colorado.  I look forward to seeing you here.

You may direct your comments and questions to myself and or to Miroslav as he will be in later today.

A bit of business:  Recently several new people have followed my blog. If I have not followed you back it is simply because your avi does not contain a link to your blog.  I would be most happy to return the follow if you leave a comment where I can go to your blog.