The articles about the controversy surrounding the translations of Amanda Gorman's poetry made me reflect on who has the power in literary translation. While Gorman chose the translator herself, it was the response from critics and the media that caused the Dutch and German translators to withdraw from the project. While the selected articles focused on the language pairs where the selected translation did not go through, I did some more research on what happened afterwards and who translated. Interestingly, the issue was resolved in German and Hungarian through a team translation, with translators from a variety of diverse backgrounds contributing their experience and perspectives (https://www.npr.org/2022/01/29/1072718452/amanda-gorman-poetry-translated-hungary-roma). While a team translation can pose issues with the translation itself, it creates more opportunities for more translators and some protection from external critics. Another option is translating outside of one's native tongue, which allows for greater diversity in potential translators. Just like with The Vegetarian, it is the critic's voice that takes up greater space than that of the author or translator.
Grace Ashton
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