| Surprised in Translation Contributor(s): Caws, Mary Ann (Author) |
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ISBN: 0226098737 ISBN-13: 9780226098739 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $38.00 Product Type: Hardcover Published: September 2006 Annotation: For Mary Ann Caws--noted translator of surrealist poetry--the most appealing translations are also the oddest; the unexpected, unpredictable, and unmimetic turns that translations take are an endless source of fascination and instruction. "Surprised in Translation" is a celebration of the occasional and fruitful peculiarity that results from some of the most flavorful translations of well-known authors. These translations, Caws avers, can energize and enliven the voice of the original. In eight elegant chapters Caws reflects on translations that took her by surprise. Caws shows that the elimination of certain passages from the original--in the case of Stephane Mallarme translating Tennyson, Ezra Pound interpreting the troubadours, or Virginia Woolf rendered into French by Clara Malraux, Charles Mauron, and Marguerite Yourcenar--often produces a greater and more coherent art. Alternatively, some translations--such as Yves Bonnefoy's translations of Shakespeare, Keats, and Yeats into French--require more lines in order to fully capture the many facets of the original. On other occasions, Caws argues, a swerve in meaning--as in Beckett translating himself into French or English--can produce a new text, just as true as the original. Imbued with Caws's personal observations on the relationship between translators and the authors they translate, "Surprised in Translation" will interest a wide range of readers, including students of translation, professional literary translators, and scholars of modernand comparative literature.
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| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - General - Language Arts & Disciplines | Translating & Interpreting |
| Dewey: 428.024 |
| LCCN: 2006000831 |
| Physical Information: 0.7" H x 5.9" W x 8.64" (0.75 lbs) 128 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: For Mary Ann Caws--noted translator of surrealist poetry--the most appealing translations are also the oddest; the unexpected, unpredictable, and unmimetic turns that translations take are an endless source of fascination and instruction. Surprised in Translation is a celebration of the occasional and fruitful peculiarity that results from some of the most flavorful translations of well-known authors. These translations, Caws avers, can energize and enliven the voice of the original. In eight elegant chapters Caws reflects on translations that took her by surprise. Caws shows that the elimination of certain passages from the original--in the case of St phane Mallarm translating Tennyson, Ezra Pound interpreting the troubadours, or Virginia Woolf rendered into French by Clara Malraux, Charles Mauron, and Marguerite Yourcenar--often produces a greater and more coherent art. Alternatively, some translations--such as Yves Bonnefoy's translations of Shakespeare, Keats, and Yeats into French--require more lines in order to fully capture the many facets of the original. On other occasions, Caws argues, a swerve in meaning--as in Beckett translating himself into French or English--can produce a new text, just as true as the original. Imbued with Caws's personal observations on the relationship between translators and the authors they translate, Surprised in Translation will interest a wide range of readers, including students of translation, professional literary translators, and scholars of modern and comparative literature. |
Contributor Bio(s): Caws, Mary Ann: - Mary Ann Caws is distinguished professor emerita of English, French, and comparative literature and resident professor in the Graduate School at the City University of New York. She is the author of many books on art and literature, including, Picasso's Weeping Woman: The Life and Art of Dora Maar, Virginia Woolf: Illustrated Life, Marcel Proust: Illustrated Life, Robert Motherwell with Pen and Brush, and Pablo Picasso. |