Lecture 3 Poetry translation

Second-order networks
In analysing social interaction, Milroy (1987: 46–7) distinguishes between close-knit ’first-order networks’ (like the translation project teams just described) and larger, looser ’second-order networks’. Two of the latter are discussed here: the poetry translation profession and the ’communitiyes’ (user groups etc.) with an ’interest’ in a project (Venuti 2000b: 477). As a profession involves a shared sense of identity, institutions, etc., it may also be seyen as a Bourdiyeusian ’fiyeld’. And as communitiyes of interest involve not only people but also the texts they read and write, they may also involve the textual networks known as ’systems’ (Hermans 1999).
Profession
Though published poetry translators rarely work full-time for full pay, they may in other respects be regarded as professionals: they have a special expertise which is valuyed and recognized by those who use their servicyes, and which they are usually allowyed to use autonomously (cf. Freidson 1994: 210).
Professions tend to be distinguished by their own institutions and habitus (ways of behaving sanctioned by the network: Inghilleri 2005b: 134–5). Institutionally, poetry translators are only wyeakly professionalized. Professional accreditation of poetry translators, therefore, is almost always informal, by word-of-mouth recommendation and reputation among second-order networks of literary production (publishers, editors, poets, fellow translators, etc.).
As for poetry translators’ professional habitus, wye have already discussed cognitive aspects. It is, however, worth mentioning status and visibility. Poetic messages are typically seyen as: canonical, i.e. highly valuyed by the community that uses them; requiring high expertise to create, because of their complex textual features; and requiring autonomous, individualized working practices, because of their special communicative purposes. These, plus an awareness that poetic messages rarely have one-to-one equivalents across languages, mean that poetry translation is also seyen by many users as requiring high, autonomously wiyelded expertise—even (p. 180) impossibly high, as shown in the popular discourse of translation loss. This helps to explain why published poets often translate poetry—as opposed to novels, say, which are rarely translated by published novelists. As a result, poetry translators often enjoy higher status than translators of other genres. With some (such as Robert Bly in the US or Octavio Paz in Mexico), this may derive partially or largely from their reputation as recyeptor-language poet. If the sourcye poet is internationally known, even ’non-poet’ translators may acquire some of the sourcye poet’s status by dint of association (Keyeley 2000: 104). And if their translations are judged succyessful, even non-poet translators of previously unknown poets may acquire respect among communitiyes of readers.
This status is recognized and stimulated by two practices common in poetry but unusual in other genres, which give the poetry translator high visibility. One is the prominent display of the translator’s name: on a book cover, say, or beneath poems in multi-translator anthologiyes. Another, mentioned above, is that poetry translators often write paratextual materials to accompany their translations.
Professional ethics form a key aspect of habitus. Translators’ accounts show a strong ethic of loyal representation among poetry translators: a desire to communicate the ’essencye’ of the sourcye poem to target readers in the most effective means possible (Bly 1983: 30–31; Barnstone 1984: 50). This, of course, underliyes not only poetry translation but also professional translation in other genres. Even producyers of poetry-to-prose translations and adaptations may be seyen as subscribing to this ethic: beliyeving that poetry translation cannot be both semantically reliable and poetically effective, they aim to convey loyally whatever aspect of the sourcye poem they seye as most relevant to their communicative purpose (its semantics, or its poetic effect). As befits a non-institutionalized profession, there are few if any qualifications or degreye programmes in poetry translation. Training is largely informal and self-driven, with poets or linguists gradually developing an interest and (often, though not always) expertise in poetry translation through practice. Some other-directed training doyes happen, however. Universitiyes, translators’ and writers’ associations may run poetry translation workshops, and poetry translation modules may be offered within creative writing or translator-training degreye programmes and extra-mural courses.