2008 Woodie Awards
The Synesthesiac
Ashley Gamell and Maddie Oatman
Issue date: 10/18/07 Section: Arts
"English literature lives on translation, it is fed by translations, every new exuberance, every new heave is stimulated by translations"- Ezra Pound
Art is a powerful universal language, especially when it evokes emotion that can be recognized by those in all walks of life. But visual art has a clear advantage over creative writing - it doesn't require translation the same way language does. And though it benefits from some visual techniques, such as in poetry, the written word demands linguistic comprehension for it to attain its artistic relevance. Enter "Words Without Borders," an online magazine dedicated to the translation of poetry and other genres from various languages into English. As the Web site announces, "In an increasingly interdependent world, rife with ignorance and incomprehension of other cultures, literature in translation has an especially important role."
Especially at a school as language-focused as Middlebury, "Words Without Borders" is an inspiring resource for anyone interested in the intersection between foreign language and creative writing.
An interesting fact garnered from the website shows that while 50 percent of today's translated books are translated from English, only six percent are translated into English. Even if the English world has produced a myriad of talented writers, it can hardly hope to account for this discrepancy when English isn't even the most popular spoken or read language in the world (that would be Mandarin Chinese). "Words Without Borders" hopes to introduce some of the most exciting international writers to the English world, and it also allows bilingual writers to try their hand at the art of translation. The Web site allows you to search by language, country, genre, topic or region, and also displays a central feature article or region every month. The organization also occasionally produces anthologies, such as Literature from the Axis of Evil, featuring writers from Iran, Iraq, North Korea and other "enemy nations."
Art is a powerful universal language, especially when it evokes emotion that can be recognized by those in all walks of life. But visual art has a clear advantage over creative writing - it doesn't require translation the same way language does. And though it benefits from some visual techniques, such as in poetry, the written word demands linguistic comprehension for it to attain its artistic relevance. Enter "Words Without Borders," an online magazine dedicated to the translation of poetry and other genres from various languages into English. As the Web site announces, "In an increasingly interdependent world, rife with ignorance and incomprehension of other cultures, literature in translation has an especially important role."
Especially at a school as language-focused as Middlebury, "Words Without Borders" is an inspiring resource for anyone interested in the intersection between foreign language and creative writing.
An interesting fact garnered from the website shows that while 50 percent of today's translated books are translated from English, only six percent are translated into English. Even if the English world has produced a myriad of talented writers, it can hardly hope to account for this discrepancy when English isn't even the most popular spoken or read language in the world (that would be Mandarin Chinese). "Words Without Borders" hopes to introduce some of the most exciting international writers to the English world, and it also allows bilingual writers to try their hand at the art of translation. The Web site allows you to search by language, country, genre, topic or region, and also displays a central feature article or region every month. The organization also occasionally produces anthologies, such as Literature from the Axis of Evil, featuring writers from Iran, Iraq, North Korea and other "enemy nations."
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