Translating Poetry

Jamie McKendrick, who has translated the leading Mexican poet, David Huerta for our tour, is well-known both as a poet in his own right and for his exceptional translations from Italian; these include, most recently, Bassani’s novel, The Garden of the Finzi-Contini, a verse play by Pasolini and a selection of Valerio Magrelli’s poems, The Embrace. Frost famously said that ‘poetry is what gets lost in translation’. In the workshop we’ll be looking at what’s found and gained in the process, as well as what can be done to minimise the losses. You don’t need to be able to speak a second language, as direct translations will be provided where necessary.