I Am A Wolf, After All is my first solo translation for Philadelphia based publisher of the beautiful and the bizarre, 50 Watts Books. This dark and quirky illustrated book was originally published by children’s publishing house Fukuinkan, in 1973. The artist and author, Maki Sasaki, was originally trained as a manga artist. I think this influence is visible in the artwork, which has a comic-book like immediacy.
I was thrilled to be part of this project and began working on the translation nearly a year prior to its publication. The translation was also reviewed by the author, something that only happened once before, during the translation of Cat’s Meow. The translation returned with “no notes,” which made me extremely happy, as I had heard that the author could be somewhat exacting concerning translations of their work.
The translation seems simple but was suprisingly complicated in places. For example, I initially struggled over how to express the sound “ke” which the wolf sardonically makes when he finds something which mildly annoys him. After trying various iterations (as can be seen in the image above), I decided on “humph,” which I felt to be the most natural in English. For me, “humph” also expresses the dissatisfaction, slight contempt and loneliness which the wolf cub in the book must be feeling as he searches for friends.
As ever, I am so happy and deeply humbled to have contributed the the work of 50 Watts Books. This publisher one of the most exciting and innovative that I know of, constantly making niche examples of art and ephemera accessible through wide-ranging publishing projects. If you chance to be in Philadelphia, be sure to visit their new retail space which opened in October 2024.
