Violent Phenomena - by Kavita Bhanot & Jeremy Tiang (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"These essays, deftly blending the political and the personal, offer fresh, galvanizing, and passionate perspectives on literary translation."--Jhumpa Lahiri

A manifesto in 22 essays, Violent Phenomena breaks stale rules about who can and should translate, envisioning a future more reflective of the beautiful polyphony of world literature.

?What would it take to unlearn centuries of colonial influence over the books we read? The values, institutions, and structures that determine which of the world's books and authors are translated, and by whom, are in dire need of disruption. Violent Phenomena brings together established and emerging translators from around the world to guide the way.

Frantz Fanon wrote in 1961 that "Decolonization is always a violent phenomenon," meaning that the violence of colonialism can only be counteracted in kind. As colonial legacies linger today, what are the ways in which we can disentangle literary translation from its roots in imperial violence? In stark contrast with their predecessors, who were trained to be as "neutral" as possible, the contributors to Violent Phenomena demand engagement with the translator's identity, voice, and cultural context, which shapes the result and in turn has an outsize influence on how a writer's work is received.

From Anton Hur on "The Mythical English Reader" to Sawad Hussain's "Why Don't You Translate Pakistanian?," these essays face the hard questions head on, offering readers the backbone they need to demand a new literary playing field.

Features a new foreword by award-winning translator and author Bruna Dantas Lobato.

Review Quotes

"A needed new intervention in translation theory, and a crucial text for decolonizing the field and practice. Ranging across languages and approaches, this collection blazes a compelling new path for understanding the politics of translation (including untranslation) and ways of recognizing and incorporating resistance in translation practice." - John Keene, award-winning translator, poet, and Rutgers University-Newark professor
"This exploration of the power dynamics and colonial legacies of literary translation is a call to action, a call to accountability, a shattering indictment of white European privilege, and an absolute must-read for anyone interested in new ways of considering translation." - Helen Vassallo, Translating Women
"The essays confirmed my lived experience as a non-Westerner translator of colour from a non-privileged background, educationally and geolinguistically. The essays confirmed I am not alone." - Alton Melvar M Dapanas, Shanghai Literary Review
"These essays, deftly blending the political and the personal, offer fresh, galvanizing, and passionate perspectives on literary translation." - Jhumpa Lahiri
"An exciting new anthology of essays on literary translation ... Brilliantly conceived and assembled, Violent Phenomena is full of translation lore and instructive tales from the translator's workshop." - Susan Bernofsky, award-winning translator and Columbia University professor
"I find myself jumping up and pumping my fists whilst reading these essays--decorum forgotten, heart thumping, neurons firing." - Wasafiri
"Formally inventive and thought-provoking, Violent Phenomena is timely and impressive." - Declan Fry, Australian Broadcasting Corporation News
"Provocative, powerful prescriptions for the essential act of shifting the locus of literary translation from dominant forces. These essays are bound to change your thoughts about translation." - Arunava Sinha, award-winning translator