Translation Is Betrayal—Good. On Carrying Poems Across Borders

Introduction: Fidelity to What?

Traduttore, traditore—translator, traitor. But the question is: betrayal of which surface, to keep which depths?

Sense, Sound, System

You can’t keep everything. Choose: semantic charge, sonic architecture, or cultural system of reference. Declare your priorities in a note; the reader can then judge fairly.

Multiple Translations

More versions mean more angles on the mountain. Instead of crowning a single “definitive” text, build constellations and let readers triangulate.

Conclusion

A good translation fails productively—it creates a new poem that remembers the old one without pretending to be it.