At the ATA‘s 54th Annual Conference in San Antonio last fall, I had a chance to chat with Lisa Carter of Intralingo, one of my favorite blogs on literary translation. One thing led to another, and we got to thinking about how everyone probably defines “literary translation” differently. Lisa tackles the question of “What is literary translation?” in her online course First Steps in Literary Translation, and I tackle it whenever people wander into my office asking “What do you do in here, anyway?”

So hey–why not each have a go at it and let our readers share their thoughts, too? And lo, a guest post exchange was born. Please welcome acclaimed Spanish>English translator Lisa Carter as she gives us her take! (You can see mine on her blog at https://intralingo.com/posts/what-is-literary-translation.)

 

What exactly is literary translation?

By Lisa Carter

 

Have you ever asked yourself this question? I have. And I’ve asked it of others, too. Quite often. The answer to this one simple question is never as straightforward as it would seem it should be. You see, the answer changes, depending on who you talk to and when you talk to them.

Most translators agree that works of fiction—novels, novellas and short stories—fit under this umbrella term, whether they’re aimed at children, young adults or adults. Then there’s poetry, which is usually seen as the highest form of literary translation because of the skill involved.

But what about other forms of fiction? Can anime squeeze in? Manga? Comic books? In recent years, I think a case has been made by various translators of this genre that it is just as much of an art as other forms of fiction.

Now, what about erotica or romance novels? As fiction, do bestsellers fall under our definition? Or only works that can be considered Literature with a capital L? There’s a whole cadre of translators and publishers who only include the latter in their definition.

If we move to the stage and screen, what about screenplays? Librettos? Does subtitling find a place? That’s what the host of this blog does for a living. I’ve heard Sarah talk about her work and it certainly embodies much of what I do when translating fiction—and so much more that’s particular to the craft. But not everyone would agree that subtitling is literary translation.

Non-fiction is no easier to categorize than fiction. Some in our industry might include creative non-fiction, such as personal essays, autobiography, biography and memoir, in their definition of literary translation. But what about newspaper articles and opinion pieces? Magazine articles? Travel guides? Textbooks? I can hear the protests already!

So you see, exactly what falls under one single definition of “literary translation” is far from universal or permanent. It varies for every translator and may change over time.

If you’re an aspiring literary translator, what you decide to include under your umbrella will define the types of projects you pursue or accept. This in turn will shape the course of your career.

Personally, I view the umbrella as being broad and relatively all-encompassing. To me, literary translation involves any form of writing produced for the reading or viewing public to enjoy: all genres of fiction and non-fiction, writing for magazines, journals and anthologies, scripts for the stage and screen.

Whether the original work is Cervantes’ Don Quixote or essays by Joan Didion, our aim as literary translators is the same. We bring works to new audiences, and our job is to represent every aspect of an author’s work both faithfully and artistically.

What do you think?

 

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Lisa Carter is an acclaimed Spanish>English translator. Her work has won the Alicia Gordon Award for Word Artistry in Translation and been nominated for an International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Lisa offers translation, editing, professional development and promotion services through her company, Intralingo Inc., at www.intralingo.com