It's an old question: is translation a form of treason? A betrayal of the original? Or is it a collaboration between the writer and the translator? Is it a high form of literary criticism? Or is it something that could be accomplished by a really sophisticated software program? In this RFW course, students will study the theory and practice of literary translation with a particular focus on poetry. Students will choose a poet or poets writing in a language other than English and over the course of the semester develop a fluency that makes the poetry available as poetry to the English reader. Students will also write a significant critical essay on their chosen poet(s) which will include studies of comparable translations by other translators. While students are not required to be highly fluent in the language(s) from which they will translate, it is strongly recommended.