NWRG
5967

Lit Translation Lab

Schools of Public Engagement: Creative Writing

Liberal Arts
Undergraduate Course
Graduate Course
Degree Students
Lit Translation Lab
Spring 2025
Taught By: Val Vinokur
Section: A

CRN: 13731

Credits: 4

“Between the language of the universe and the universe of language, there is a bridge, a link: poetry. The poet, says Baudelaire, is the translator” (Octavio Paz). "The true goal of the mind is translating: only when a thing has been translated does it become truly vocal” (Franz Rosenzweig). This course introduces students to the art of translation and gives them the opportunity to workshop their own projects. It is open to graduate and undergraduate students working in any language, media, or genre, so long as they have advanced reading proficiency in their source language and fluency in the target language (English). The goal is for each student to produce a translated work (graphic novel / illustration, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, song, film subtitles, journalism, game, etc.), as well as a critical introduction that explains its significance, context, and challenges involved in its translation. In the process, students will be encouraged to consider how the experience of translation might influence their own creative work. We will consider translation as a mode of 1) reading and interpretation; 2) constrained writing; 3) cultural contextualization and cross-pollination; and 4) interrogating the tension between linguistic idiom and creative idiosyncrasy. Throughout, we will ask the difficult question, posed by the Formalists, of what makes a text literary, and then we will think as a group about how this literariness can be represented beyond the text's original language. This course fulfills the Literature Seminar requirement for SPE MFA and Writing and Democracy Honors students, and the Reading for Writers (RFW) or Secondary Genre requirement for Eugene Lang College Literary Studies majors; the workshop is a core requirement for the Minor in Literary Translation.

College: Schools of Public Engagement (NS)

Department: Creative Writing (CRW)

Campus: New York City (GV)

Course Format: Seminar (R)

Modality: In-Person

Max Enrollment: 13

Repeat Limit: N/A

Add/Drop Deadline: February 3, 2025 (Monday)

Online Withdrawal Deadline: April 15, 2025 (Tuesday)

Seats Available: Yes

Status: Open*

* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 12:04am EST 11/11/2024

Meeting Info:
Days: Monday
Times: 4:00pm - 6:30pm
Building: 66 5th Ave
Room: 822
Date Range: 1/20/2025 - 5/14/2025