The fractured surface of poetry and the translator's task

Authors

  • Donald Wellman Daniel Webster College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/eutopias.0.19784

Keywords:

Translation, poetry, close reading, fractured expression

Abstract

Every translation is partial. At its best a translation captures only elements that inhere in the original. This is especially true of the translation of poetry. Translation fractures the bond between language and content that distinguishes poetry from other uses of language. I apply this lesson to examples drawn from my translations of the works of Antonio Gamoneda and Emilio Prados. My translations may approach some qualities found in the original but fail to rival the integrity of the source texts. I also argue that translation provides a uniquely situated form of close reading and that similar processes of close reading are useful in working with experimental or avant-garde poetry like that of John Ashbery or Charles Bernstein. This dynamic of close reading is doubled again in its force and value when translating innovative texts from a home language to a host language.

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References

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Published

2013-07-07

How to Cite

Wellman, D. (2013). The fractured surface of poetry and the translator’s task. EU-topías. A Journal on Interculturality, Communication, and European Studies, 5, 45–53. https://doi.org/10.7203/eutopias.0.19784
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VOL. 5 (2013)

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DOSSIER

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