Translating Kafka: Performing and Interpreting a Modern Master

Mark Harman, Emeritus Professor of German and English at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, is best known for his translations of Franz Kafka. Mark’s presentation will begin with a dramatic reading of his new translation of a breathless and surreal story Kafka story: “A Country Doctor” is a tale which cries out for interpretation while also resisting it. In the opening lines, the narrating country doctor faces a dilemma. Having just been called upon to make an emergency visit to a young patient, he suddenly realizes that he has no way of getting there. And that turns out to be the least of his dilemmas. . .After his reading/performance of the story, Mark will briefly sketch some approaches to interpreting “A Country Doctor” and also comment on some challenges he faced in translating Kafka’s stories. The event will conclude with what is sure to be a lively Q. and A.