Artur Rosman is an associate research professor at the University of Notre Dame and the editor-in-chief of Church Life Journal. The University of Notre Dame Press is thrilled to publish his translation of philosopher Józef Tischner’s The Philosophy of Drama (September 2024). He recently answered some of our questions about his research and writing processes.
When did you first get the idea to translate this book?
The Tischner Institute in Krakow received a grant to translate the book some years ago. They asked me if I was interested in translating Filozofia dramatu [The Philosophy of Drama] into English. It was an easy decision. It’s hard to say “no” to bringing one of the most important works of philosophy to come from Poland to a wider audience.
Certainly these are unprecedented times in the United States, Europe, and around the world. What can readers find in your book that will resonate with them during this era?
Somewhere Albert Camus cites what he claims is an old Chinese blessing. It goes, “May you live in interesting times.” There is also a Chinese curse and it is identical in content.
That is the everyday drama of human life, choosing between the path of life and the path of death, rather the narrow understanding of drama as something that happens at the theater only. There is always something interesting and unprecedented going on around us: wars, peace, politics, pandemics, polarization, and so on.
Tischner’s book was written as a response to what had transpired in the Solidarity movement. Yet, more importantly, it is a fundamental ontology. This means that if the book is faithful to its calling then it will be applicable to any period. I happen to think Tischner met this challenge that he set for himself.
What was your approach to translating this book?
I first gathered together all the books by Levinas and Heidegger most frequently mentioned in Tischner’s book. I wanted to get a sense for the vocabulary (in translation) of this school of thought.
That went only so far, because Tischner, just as any philosopher, creates his own technical vocabulary. This meant that I only got a handle on how to render some concepts through habituating myself progressively to them, feeling them out. Some things only came to me at the “end” of the translation. Then I had to go back and fix the rest of the translation.
What did you learn while translating it?
I relearned that good philosophy makes us uncomfortable. Tischner is typically so precise with his formulations that he, uncannily, pins down the very words that people use in certain situations. This was the case in his discussion of the “liar” where he says that the liar keeps asking the person they are lying to whether they “respect” them to gauge whether the intersubjective world of lies they are weaving is holding up. Life events—I won’t go into details—made it at times very disturbing to reread those words during the several edits.
Which translator is the biggest influence on you and your work?
The poetry and essays of Czeslaw Milosz in translation (he typically translated his work with the help of American poets such as Haas and Pinsky), and his translations of other Polish poets, were my introduction to a whole “native realm” of the possibilities of what is thinkable. That whole world of Polish writing rearranged the furniture of my mind. It then became my “native realm.”
What is your writing schedule like?
Chaotic. I don’t really like either translating or writing. It’s part of the reason why I’m an editor.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start translating a book?
If you can stop yourself, then don’t do it. It’s an immense burden and responsibility.
Who would you like to read The Philosophy of Drama and why?
Everyone. It is a book about the insuperability of the human drama. What else do you need from a book?
What books are you currently reading?
I’m reading Heidegger’s Being and Time with some friends. I’m going to get through all of it this time. Fifth time’s the charm!
What project are you working on next?
I’m chiefly concentrating on publishing around 200 pieces annually in Church Life Journal. One of my proudest achievements is publishing excerpts—around 80 of them—from books published by the University of Notre Dame Press. Steve Wrinn took over the press a little before I came to Notre Dame. I’ve always admired what he’s done since taking over the press. It is a pleasure to work with UNDP.