Narratives of Mistranslation: Fictional Translators in Latin American Literature

133 Pages·2023·1.434 MB·English

by  Denise Kripper

Narratives of Mistranslation
This book offers unique insights into the role of the translator in today’s
globalized world, exploring Latin American literature featuring translators
and interpreters as protagonists in which prevailing understandings of the
act of translation are challenged and upended.
The volume looks to the fictional turn as a fruitful source of critical
inquiry in translation studies, showcasing the potential for recent Latin
American novels and short stories in Spanish to shed light on the complex
dynamics and conditions under which translators perform their task. Kripper
unpacks how the study of these works reveals translation not as an activity
with communication as its end goal but rather as a mediating and mediated
process shaped by the unique manipulations and motivations of translators
and the historical and cultural contexts in which they work. In exploring the
fictional representations of translators, the book also outlines pedagogical
approaches and offers discussion questions for the implementation of
translators’ narratives in translation, language, and literature courses.
Narratives of Mistranslation will be of interest to scholars and educators
in translation studies, especially those working in literary translation and
translation pedagogy, Latin American literature, world literature, and Latin
American studies.
Denise Kripper is an associate professor of Spanish at Lake Forest College
(USA) and the translation editor at Latin American Literature Today.
Routledge Studies in Literary Translation
Series Editors: Jacob Blakesley and Duncan Large
Routledge Studies in Literary Translation highlights pioneering research
in literary translation, exploring emerging developments, new voices, and
key issues of relevance in core literary genres. The series questions the
definition of literary translation as a sub-discipline in its own right with
its own particular methodological and theoretical considerations as well
as the extent to which its study extends to genres beyond the traditional
categories of fiction, poetry, and drama. The series extends its scope beyond
Anglophone literary traditions to feature research on translated literary
works across a range of languages as well as the interface between literary
translation and such topics as multilingual literature, literary canons,
publishing markets, classics, and digital humanities. With its dedicated
focus on literary translation, this series will appeal to students and scholars
interested in the interface of translation studies and literary studies, as
well as those in related disciplines such as comparative literature, literary
criticism, sociology, and media studies.
Translating Transgender Identity
(Re)Writing Undecidable Texts and Bodies
Emily Rose
The Afterlife of Dante’s Vita Nova in the Anglophone World
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Translation and Reception History
Edited by Federica Coluzzi and Jacob Blakesley
A Literary Translation in the Making
A Process-Oriented Perspective
Claudine Borg
Narratives of Mistranslation
Fictional Translators in Latin American Literature
Denise Kripper
For more information about the series, please visit: https://www .routledge
.com /Routledge- Studies -in -Literary- Translation/ book -series /RRSLT
Narratives of Mistranslation
Fictional Translators in
Latin American Literature
Denise Kripper
First published 2023
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Denise Kripper
The right of Denise Kripper to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent
to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kripper, Denise, author.
Title: Narratives of mistranslation/Denise Kripper.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2023. |
Series: Routledge studies in literary translation | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022047359 (print) | LCCN 2022047360 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032017730 (hardback) | ISBN 9781003179986 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Spanish American literature–History and criticism. | Translators
in literature. | Translating and interpreting in literature. | Translating and
interpreting–Study and teaching. | LCGFT: Literary criticism.
Classification: LCC PQ7082.N7 K69 2022 (print) | LCC PQ7082.N7 (ebook) |
DDC 418/.043–dc23/eng/20221101
LC record available at https://lccn. loc .gov /2022047359
LC ebook record available at https://lccn. loc .gov /2022047360
ISBN: 9781032017730 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032017761 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003179986 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003179986
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
For Emilio L. Kripper
in memoriam

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Rendering Translators Visible 3
Translation as Mistranslation 6
Content Overview 8
Pedagogical Applications 10
A Translator’s Note on Translation 11
References 12
1 Reading Fiction as Theory: The Potentialities of Mistranslation 15
“Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote” by Jorge Luis Borges 16
“Nota al pie” by Rodolfo Walsh 19
“Diary for a Story” by Julio Cortázar 23
Conclusion 26
In the Classroom 29
References 30
2 (Mis)Translation in Latin America: A Fictional History 33
“The Two Shores” by Carlos Fuentes 34
El intérprete by Néstor Ponce 37
The Garden Next Door by José Donoso 40
Conclusion 43
In the Classroom 45
References 46
viii Contents
3 Publishing Fiction(s): The Market of Translation 48
El traductor by Salvador Benesdra 50
El testamento de O’Jaral by Marcelo Cohen 56
Conclusion 61
In the Classroom 63
References 64
4 Silence Speaks Volumes: Gender Politics and Interpretation 66
Ambactus: (servidor) by Nadia Volonté 73
Include Me Out by María Sonia Cristoff 77
Conclusion 81
In the Classroom 84
References 85
5 In Search of an Original: Writing in Translation 88
2666 by Roberto Bolaño 92
Traveler of the Century by Andrés Neuman 98
Conclusion 103
In the Classroom 105
References 106
Conclusion 109
References 114
Index 117
Acknowledgments
As I hope this book will demonstrate, translation is a collective effort. I am
grateful for a wonderful community of friends and colleagues who have
supported my writing in countless ways, including reading early drafts and
offering invaluable feedback, inviting me to panels and roundtables, having
me as a guest speaker in classes and seminars, and helping me think through
my ideas in conversation.
I appreciate my students at Lake Forest College for their growing interest
in and passion for translation, my research assistants Rebecca Hernández
and Jennifer Bolek, librarians Cory Stevens and Michael Karsten, and
my colleagues in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.
Lake Forest College research funds and grants allowed me to present my
work at Harvard University’s Institute for World Literature at Københavns
Universitet and the Nida School of Translation Studies “Translating
Pedagogies” summer program at the San Pellegrino University Foundation,
as well as in various conferences including Naming and Translating ‘The
Marginal’ at the School of Translation and Interpretation in the University
of Ottawa and annual events of the American Comparative Literature
Association, the American Literary Translators Association, the Latin
American Studies Association, and the Modern Languages Association.
Special thanks go to Carolyn Shread at Mount Holyoke College, Reyes
Lázaro at Smith College, Tal Goldfajn at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, and Pablo Martín Ruiz at Tufts University for welcoming me
into your undergraduate and graduate courses to share my research with
your students, and to Adriana Vega and Sarah Booker for co-chairing con-
ference panels with me. I was also fortunate to participate in the Kenyon
Review’s Translation Workshop, the Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference,
and the British Centre for Literary Translation Summer School, where I
met incredible translators and friends who contributed greatly to this book,
including Katherine Hedeen, Elizabeth Lowe, the Mate Mates (Nora Carr,
Travis Price, and Will Morningstar), and Cecilia Rossi, Anne McLean, and