Mary H.K. Choi’s Hidden Joy in Not Being Translated

At AAWW, Mary H.K. Choi discusses her new novel, Yolk, and why she is partially relieved it has not been translated into Korean, the language spoken by her parents. “As a writer, as someone who reveals their innermost selves linguistically, it’s lonely not to speak the same language as your parents,” Choi explains. “Then again, the fact that my books haven’t been translated into Korean is incredibly freeing. I don’t know that I’d want to be swayed in any way, or feel as though I’m aiming for a version of work that would gain the most approval. I think it wouldn’t even be intentional but I’d feel the weight of it and can imagine it would be stultifying.”