Theories of Translation

Spanning the centuries, from the seventeenth to the twentieth, and ranging across cultures, from England to Mexico, this collection gathers together important statements on the function and feasibility of literary translation. The essays provide an overview of the historical evolution in thinking about translation and offer strong individual opinions by prominent contemporary theorists. Most of the twenty-one pieces appear in translation, some here in English for the first time and many difficult to find elsewhere. Selections include writings by Scheiermacher, Nietzsche, Ortega, Benjamin, Pound, Jakobson, Paz, Riffaterre, Derrida, and others. A fine companion to "The Craft of Translation, " this volume will be a valuable resource for all those who translate, those who teach translation theory and practice, and those interested in questions of language philosophy and literary theory. John Biguenet, past president of the American Literary Translators Association, is professor of English at Loyola University in New Orleans. Rainer Schulte is professor of arts and humanities and director of the Center for Translation Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. They are the coeditors of "The Craft of Translation, " also published by the University of Chicago Press.