A poetic meditation and collection of aphorisms on the art of literary translation by one of the most respected translators in the US. Translating literatures East and West, ancient and modern, Barnstone has proven insights to share, and does so in a light and humorous way though verse.
The ABC of Translation:
Available
Excerpt from the ABC of Translation
Unknown
Stumble in the Unknown and See the Light
A translator operates in the unwise and the unknown
and gambles on gains to balance he losses.
Cliches in the original often freshen in the new tongue.
Be courageous. Give a cliche new life,
say it. Don’t fudge. Don’t take a poll. that’s not the way of lonely artists. Utter the exotic.
Report the words of the sober Maya god Copac
about to drink a jug of royal hot chocolate.
Indulge in literal translation of the worn cliche
and it will shine like an old silver dime.
Safe equivalents cause pain and demean.
All around you in the obvious stands the unknown.
Praise for Barnstone’s ABC of Translation
“Barnstone is one of the greatest translators of literary expression from a foreign language into English. We are lucky to have him.”
--New Letters
“What Barnstone says about translation and theory has authority not only because of his genial erudition and his coherent perspective but also because of his own accomplishments in translating literatures East and West, ancient and modern.”
--Marilyn Gaddis Rose
SUNY Binghamton
“Willis Barnstone has a problem: he’s too good. Everything he writes, from his invaluable The Other Bible, a compendium of holy texts no writer should be without, through his brilliant translations and beautiful poems, is a breathtaking achievement.”
--Carolyn Kizer
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