Literary Back-Translation - by Véronique Lane (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first book to theorise literary back-translation, distinguishing it from retranslation and indirect translation, and delineating its aesthetic, ethical, political and philosophical implications.

Book Synopsis

Walter Benjamin famously warned against translating translations. Yet, literary back-translations are increasingly being published: whether commissioned by publishers to make celebrated translations of literary works accessible to their original audience, or sponsored by nations and feminist groups working for the cultural reappropriation of texts that first appeared in translation, back-translations are becoming more common. This book argues that the malaise they still generate are their very promise: literary back-translation transforms our conception of translation itself, through the recognition that translations are literary works in their own right, and as such also worthy of an afterlife. It thereby responds to the call of Maria Timoczko's call for new approaches enlarging translation, conceptually as well as ideologically. Literary back-translation reveals translation as much less teleological a process than assumed, a process that should no longer be understood as a balance of forces seeking 'restitution' - as if it were possible - but as a way to enable literary works to travel in both directions, with no preconceived trajectory.

Review Quotes

This volume on literary back-translation contributes provocatively to our understanding of what translation is and does. From the Chinese classic The Dream of the Red Chamber to the poetry and translations of Paul Celan, this collection shows readers how back-translation works.--Thomas O. Beebee, Penn State University

Homing in on what may seem a marginal phenomenon, this thought-provoking book theorises literary back-translation, questions the directionality of translation, and offers case studies probing into the ideological underpinnings of all translating, including indirect translation and retranslation.--Theo Hermans, University College London