The essays in this volume address one of the central issues in literary translation, namely the relationship between the creative freedom enjoyed by the translator and the multiplicity of constraints to which translation is necessarily subject. The links between an author’s translation work and his or her own writing are likewise explored.
Through a series of compelling case studies, this volume illustrates the parallel and overlapping discourses within the cognate areas of literary studies, creative writing and translation studies, which together propose a view of translation as (a form of) creative writing, and creative writing itself as being shaped by translation processes. The translations of selected contemporary French, Spanish and German texts offer readers some insights into how the translator’s work mirrors and complements that of the creative writer.
The combination of theory and practice presented in this volume will appeal not just to specialists in translation studies, but also to a wider public.
Rita Wilson is Associate Professor in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University. Recent publications include Words, Images and Performances in Translation, co-edited with Brigid Maher (London and New York: Continuum, 2011), and several articles on the relationship between writing, (self-) translation and autobiography.
Leah Gerber is Lecturer in Translation and Interpreting Studies at Monash University. She has authored a number of articles in the area of children’s literary translation, and specialises in the translation of ‘Australianness’. She was Director of the 2011 Translated! Literary Translation Summer School and festival.
