NYPL Researcher Spotlight: Flavie Épié

This profile is part of a series of interviews chronicling the experiences of researchers who use The New York Public Library collections for the development of their work.

Flavie Épié is a PhD candidate in English studies at Université Bordeaux-Montaigne and Universiteit Antwerpen. Her research addresses collaborative translation processes, with a specific focus on the French translations of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

What brought you to the Library?

My PhD focuses on a compared analysis of the two French translations of Joyce’s Ulysses and their geneses. The first one was published by Adrienne Monnier’s La Maison des Amis des Livres in Paris in 1929, seven years after the original. Most of the unpublished material for this translation, the revised typescript, and letters and notes exchanged by the translators, publisher and author, was acquired by the Berg Collection to be part of the James Joyce Collection of Papers. Consulting such precious original documents was well worth traveling all the way from France!

What's your favorite spot in the Library?

I loved the time I spent in the Berg Collection research room—it is not only really quiet and beautifully furnished, but there is also quite a wonderful feeling inherent to working a couple of yards away from Charles Dickens’s desk and a few of the other great writers’ works and artifacts preserved there.

When did you first get the idea for your research project? 

I started working on Ulysses for my MA research thesis, after a Bloomsday visit to Dublin in 2012. I remember my then-supervisor recommending a book of annotations as an alternative to plunging into potentially unhelpful French translations, which intrigued me. As I kept on reading, I was struck by the linguistic intricacy, as well as the encyclopedic and realistic dimensions of a book that can get quite addictive once you start digging into it, and I indeed started wondering how one might translate such an opus. I opened the books, started delving into the archive and playing a very elaborate game of spot-the-difference, and have not stopped since!

What’s the most unexpected item you encountered in your research?

During my stay at the Library, I was surprised to find a postcard which Joyce had sent to Adrienne Monnier from my hometown of Bordeaux. It is quite anecdotal, but it was really amusing to come across such tangible proof of his August 1925 visit to the place where I currently live.

What research tool could you not live without? 

I could not live without my laptop, which is not only the tool I use to write, but has gradually become a treasure trove, holding most of my notes, resources and material. In that respect, the open-source reference management tool Zotero has been a real life-saver and became one of my essentials to make sure I stay organized and do not lose track of any source or reference.

How do you maintain your research momentum?

By keeping a tight schedule and trying to assign myself short deadlines. Dividing the work into smaller tasks makes it easier to know where I stand and keep track of my progress in the long run.

What's your guilty pleasure distraction?

When I need a short break, my favorite thing to do is taking a few minutes to enjoy a piece of chocolate and people-watch.

After a day of working/researching, what do you do to unwind?

I usually try to get some fresh air and take a walk. It makes for a nice transition from work to home and helps me put my ideas in order.

What tabs are currently open on your computer?

The web page of a call for papers for which I am writing an abstract; an online article on the translation of cultural references; and Twitter, which I use to keep myself posted on the various things going on in the Joyce community, and also in translation and literary studies.

Is there anything you'd like to tell someone looking to get started?

Look at the online finding aid to come prepared, and ask the librarians—their help is invaluable!