“Translation is something of the runt of the literary litter, more often perceived as grunt work than art work,” Max Norman writes. “Its practitioners have rarely received attention for anything other than screwing up.” But what do translators do? What Does a Translator Do?

 

“Translation is something of the runt of the literary litter, more often perceived as grunt work than art work,” Max Norman writes. “Its practitioners have rarely received attention for anything other than screwing up.” But what do translators do?

newyorker.com

What Does a Translator Do?

Damion Searls, who has translated a Nobel laureate, believes his craft isn’t about transforming or reflecting a text. It’s about conjuring one’s experience of it.