The art of failure in translating a Navajo poem
This article engages John Ciardi’s famous dictum that translation is « the art of failure » by engaging in a thick translation and a creative transposition of a short poem in Navajo by Rex Lee Jim. I begin with reflections on recent discussions in anthropology on translation and voice – both of whic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Société des américanistes
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/14602 |
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| author | Anthony K. Webster |
| author_facet | Anthony K. Webster |
| author_sort | Anthony K. Webster |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article engages John Ciardi’s famous dictum that translation is « the art of failure » by engaging in a thick translation and a creative transposition of a short poem in Navajo by Rex Lee Jim. I begin with reflections on recent discussions in anthropology on translation and voice – both of which will be relevant to the argument advanced in my discussion of Jim’s poem. I then work through a transcript of an interview with Jim about his poetry. I then engage in a creative transposition, or more precisely a failure, of the poem, and engage in a bit of exegesis and philology about the poem. The goal is to bring a concern with voice into dialogue with a concern with theorizations of translation. Mostly, though, this article is a contemplative exercise in the art of failure and in attending to the value of such an intellectual and aesthetic endeavor. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-93ad7a25664b46699efcb582d2f413df |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0037-9174 1957-7842 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | Société des américanistes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal de la Société des Américanistes |
| spelling | doaj-art-93ad7a25664b46699efcb582d2f413df2025-02-05T15:54:04ZengSociété des américanistesJournal de la Société des Américanistes0037-91741957-78422016-10-01102194110.4000/jsa.14602The art of failure in translating a Navajo poemAnthony K. WebsterThis article engages John Ciardi’s famous dictum that translation is « the art of failure » by engaging in a thick translation and a creative transposition of a short poem in Navajo by Rex Lee Jim. I begin with reflections on recent discussions in anthropology on translation and voice – both of which will be relevant to the argument advanced in my discussion of Jim’s poem. I then work through a transcript of an interview with Jim about his poetry. I then engage in a creative transposition, or more precisely a failure, of the poem, and engage in a bit of exegesis and philology about the poem. The goal is to bring a concern with voice into dialogue with a concern with theorizations of translation. Mostly, though, this article is a contemplative exercise in the art of failure and in attending to the value of such an intellectual and aesthetic endeavor.https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/14602Navajopoetrytranslationsoundvoicefailure |
| spellingShingle | Anthony K. Webster The art of failure in translating a Navajo poem Journal de la Société des Américanistes Navajo poetry translation sound voice failure |
| title | The art of failure in translating a Navajo poem |
| title_full | The art of failure in translating a Navajo poem |
| title_fullStr | The art of failure in translating a Navajo poem |
| title_full_unstemmed | The art of failure in translating a Navajo poem |
| title_short | The art of failure in translating a Navajo poem |
| title_sort | art of failure in translating a navajo poem |
| topic | Navajo poetry translation sound voice failure |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/jsa/14602 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT anthonykwebster theartoffailureintranslatinganavajopoem AT anthonykwebster artoffailureintranslatinganavajopoem |