“Translation thus poses the question of the whole theory of language and that of literature. It is linked to their history. It is not limited to being the instrument of communication and information from one language to another, from one culture to another, traditionally considered inferior to the original creation in literature. It is an experimental poetics.”
- Henri Meschonnic
Paul Celan and Henri Meschonnic were both poets for whom translation was an integral aspect of their poetics. With its concern for rhythm, syntax, sound, and sense, a translational practice brings one closer to the inner workings of language; it requires that we inhabit writing in a manner that is both delicate and decisive and that we develop our ability to “hear” the accretion of intensities beyond meaning that gather and disperse in a text. This symposium will explore translation as a practice through which language is created. How might we think of translation as a way in which language is brought into being?
This symposium is hosted by Cynthia Mitchell (Interdisciplinary Humanities PhD Program) and brings together faculty from Études françaises and the Department of English.
Our first presentation provides an opportunity for anglophones to learn about Henri Meschonnic’s important and difficult contributions to theories of language and poetics.
Our second presentation will be a talk/workshop exploring multi-lingual resonances in the poetry of Paul Celan.
This event is open to all, and no experience with translation is needed. Talks are in English.
2PM: Pier-Pascale Boulanger, “Translating Meschonnic. Meschonnicizing Translation”
Professor Pier-Pascale Boulanger will share her expertise on the French poet, translator, and theorist Henri Meschonnic and discuss aspects of her experience translating his difficult and compelling works.
3PM: Stephen Ross, “Bridges Over Abysses: On Paul Celan’s Letter to Karl Dedecius”
Professor Stephen Ross will offer a talk/workshop focusing on Celan’s and Dedecius’s translations into German of the Russian poet Sergei Esenin.