Book Review: Past Into Present

Past Into Present by Stacy F. Roth

I wish I'd found this book years ago. It's basically a summary everything I've observed over years of interpreting and watching others interpret; I found myself almost constantly nodding along with each point the author made.

This is not a small volume, with 181 pages divided into 15 chapters (plus notes and appendices).  There's some background on living history and explanation of different approaches; the rest of the work covers developing a persona, interacting with visitors, and special situations that may arise while interpreting. The focus is on first person interpretation, though a number of the techniques either employ a level of third-person interpretation or can be applied to it.

The chapters cover topics such as "breaking the ice", "the art of conversation" and "interpreting to children"; the divisions make it fairly easy to look up specific information. The advice in each chapter is based on interviews with interpreters from different sites, so there's multiple approaches to choose form, with a certain amount of discussion about the context each technique has been used in, and about when it does/does not work.  These are a bit short for case studies, but are in a similar vein.  I like that one of the chapters specifically deals with interpreting controversial subjects, and how that has been successful or unsuccessful in different situations.  I also like the combination of theory and practical 'how-to' advice, which I think makes it a powerful and versatile tool.

There are a few places where the language used reads a little awkwardly (primarily about engaging special needs and ESL visitors), but overall it's quite solid and remains relevant twenty years after publication.  The only point I'm inclined to dispute is about interpreters' personal space--boundaries can be enforced graciously (or forcefully, as needed), and I disagree with the idea that costumed interpreters just need to accept being grabbed by members of the public.

Stars: 5

Accuracy: Enables it. There is some discussion about when/how breaking character can give visitors a better overall experience, but it's mostly about giving the reader as wide a variety of interpretive tools as possible.

Difficulty Level: All. I think there's good information here for interpreters of all experience levels, but especially for those who have done a little interpretation and are looking to branch into first person.

Overall Impression: A thoughtful look at different interpretation strategies, easily mixing theory and practical techniques. If you're trying to find methods for first person improvisation, go with this book or else Easy Street; if you're trying to better understand first person interpretation go with this one.