In 1977, Jimmy Carter visited Poland. It was a dismal December day, and Steven Seymour, hired to interpret during the arrival ceremony, got very cold while waiting for the presidential plane in the freezing rain. Carter began his address with a greeting, before going on to say: “When I left the United States this morning …” Seymour’s translation, “When I abandoned the United States …”, made the Polish-speakers in the audience chuckle. The president then said he was there to “understand your desires for the future”. Seymour’s rendition of it, translated back into English as “I desire the Poles”, was reported in newspapers around the world.
Back inside from the cold, Seymour admitted he might have used the occasional infelicitous verb. Most of the sensationalist coverage, however – “grab at the Poles’ private parts” and suchlike – had been made up. Seymour, who died in 2014, is warmly remembered by his former colleagues, who recently forwarded me a copy of a letter from his archive. It begins with “Don’t let the exaggerated criticisms disturb you” and is signed “Your friend Jimmy Carter”.
