| Description |
That translations do not occur in a vacuum is a truism. All actors in the literary translation field deserve more attention. Translations come about through the efforts of a host of individuals and institutions. Consider, among others: the authors, the translators, the two or more publishing houses, the book fairs, staff of various institutions that provide funds, other cultural mediators, diplomats, literary agents, the illustrators or designers of the covers, the writers of the back cover texts, the critics who review the books, the writers of the blurbs, the dictionary makers, machines and computer programmes, friends and acquaintances. And so on. A whole network of committed actors, each with their own ideas, agendas and power, work on the publication of a book. Translations are never innocent, but rather the result of many complicated processes, lobbying and often paradoxical situations and lucky coincidences. The aim of this Summer School is twofold. The morning lectures are devoted to theoretical questions on the theme ‘Literary translation and actors in literary translation: individuals and institutions’. In the practice-oriented afternoon lectures, students' translations of contemporary Dutch-language authors and translation choices and strategies are discussed. During this Summer School, we will delve deeper into certain topics related to the overarching theme. In doing so, we will focus on the following perspectives: 1. The (in)visibility of the translator: It is an unwritten rule that the translator must be invisible. He should convert the text as best he can from the source language to the target language and then disappear. Yet this is more complicated. The translator's identity, knowledge and financial position are getting more and more attention. What is the current position of the literary translator within the field? 2. Grants: Translations often come about with the help of financial support from various national and international institutions. In the Netherlands and Flanders, the Dutch Literature Fund, Flanders Literature and the ELV are the main actors. How do these institutions work, what power do they exercise, what is or is not recommended and who decides? Which translations appear with or without financial support from these institutions? 3. Fragments, fragmentations and cultural mediators: When people talk about translations, they usually talk about novels in book form. What is the situation of fragments, stories, poems, drama texts that appear in magazines or anthologies or that are performed? Which actors and institutions play a role in them? What different cultural mediators are involved in translations from two peripheral countries? 4. Non-translation and canon: Especially in the case of peripheral countries/languages between which there is relatively little cultural transfer, translations create a canon. This lecture explores the tension between national and global/transnational literature and gives attention to the phenomenon of non-translation. What is missing from a given canon also creates the image of that literature. 5. Machine translations: It is a taboo for a literary work to be translated by machines or computer programmes. However, there are caveats here too. Can a computer recognise, produce and/or translate style, irony or sarcasm? How should the literary translator in 2024 deal with computer programmes?
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