Resonating with Job. Czesław Miłosz as a Translator of The Book of Job

Abstract

This discussion of why the Polish poet and Nobel Prize winner Czesław Miłosz (1911–2004) translated the Book of Job distinguishes two meanings of translation in reference to the poet’s work: fi rst as a process, which relates to Miłosz’s life and personal experience, and second as an outcome, which relates to his poetry. The investigation of this problem makes use of some work by Father Joseph Sadzik as well as of Clive Scott’s concept of rediscovery of reading. The article contributes to an understanding of how Miłosz reconciled the roles of poet and translator, of humble servant and rebellious yet fragile human being, of innocent yet disturbing witness. The author argues that the translation of the Book of Job, as a process and as an outcome, reveals the complexity of Miłosz’s craft and its effectiveness in defi ning the scope of the translator’s duties, of which the most important is to come alongside Job and learn how he coped with his experience of being an innocent victim.