OF PROLES & PARAGRAPHS

An OS [re:con]versation with poet & translator Mathilda Cullen

[Editor’s note: this conversation appears in anticipatory celebration of the release of Vormorgen: The Collected Poems of Ernst Toller, compiled and translated by Cullen — the first such volume in nearly a century, and the first dual language volume to be released collecting the work of this radical Jewish anarchist, a voice resonant with today’s struggles. This vital project is currently available for discounted pre-order directly from the OS.]

Greetings comrade! Thank you for talking to us about your process today! Can you introduce yourself, in a way that you would choose?

I’m Mathilda Cullen.

Why do you work in translation?

Because I like to be wrong. Because I’m wrong most of the time. Because after a while it’s not about that at all.

In addition or instead of “translator,” what other titles or affiliations do you prefer/feel are more accurate? What other work are you doing in the world these days?

Poet is the only appellation suitable for this compulsive delirium. Translator suggests I’ve succeeded at something, have converted a product from one form to another, have ferried it across a river and have had it approved by customs, am presenting…