The Art Of Translating Poetry

There has been very little linguistically sound discussion of the differences between poetry and prose, and virtually no discussion of any sort of the practical consequences of those differences for the translation of prose. The Art of Translating Prose presents for both the specialist and nonspecialist the core strategies employed by the author in translating a variety of important prose texts, and in the process delineates a coherent program or theory that can inform each act of translation. Burton Raffel considers and effectively illustrates the fundamental features of prose, those features that most clearly and idiomatically define an author's style. He addresses those features that must be attended closely and imaginatively as one moves them from the original-language work. Raffel's insistence on concentrating on the artistic viability of the translation continues themes he explored in other books, most notably The Forked Tongue and The Art of Translating Poetry. Raffel finds the most important determinant&—for prose, though not for poetry&—to be syntax, which he argues must be tracked if the translation is to reflect the original author's style in a meaningful way. Raffel ties together theory and practice to establish sound standards for the evaluation of prose translations, and he provides examples in considerations of versions of such books as Madame Bovary, Germinal, and Death in Venice.

Burton Raffel considers and effectively illustrates the fundamental features of prose, those features that most clearly and idiomatically define an author's style. He addresses those features that must be attended closely and imaginatively as one moves them from the original-language work.

"This expanded edition of Postwar Polish Poetry (which was originally published in 1965) presents 125 poems by 25 poets, including Czeslaw Milosz and other Polish poets living outside Poland. The stress of the anthology is on poetry written after 1956, the year when the lifting of censorship and the berakdown of doctrines provoked and explosion of new schools and talents. The victory of Solidarity in August 1980 once again opened new vistas for a short time; the coup of December closed that chapter. It is too early yet to predict the impact these events will have on the future of Polish poetry." From Amazon.

Author of Encyclopedia of Translation Terminology (2007), A Dictionary of Translation and Interpreting (2002), and A Linguistic Study of the Development of Scientific Vocabulary in Standard Arabic (London: KPI 1987) Intended for poetry-translation scholars, teachers, students, and practitioners, this book provides an in-depth look at poetry translation as an act of creative recreation. Clearly written and amply illustrated, it is designed to help readers understand the nature of poetry, the key elements of its language, the various types of challenges frequently encountered in its translation, and the procedures, methods and strategies required to translate poems into poems. It provides important and penetrating answers to questions such as: What makes poetry translation a special case within literary translation?? Is poetry translatable?? Does poetry really get lost in translation?? How should a poem be translated? What makes a “good” translation? Is it preferable to translate a poem literally, or should the translator endeavor to recreate the effect of the original poem as a poem in its own right in the target language? Is poetry translation a matter of reproduction or an act of recreation? Who translates poetry? Should a poem be looked at as a “renaissance painting”? Why is poetry translation referred to as “the art of compromise”?

New edition of best-selling Asian title presents the poems of a renowned Zen master.