Literary Translation in Ljubljana
The class of Topics in Literary Translation spent two days in Ljubljana on May 24 and 25, translating Slovenian poetry from English into German. Students from the English Department of our partner university (Univerza v Ljubljani) had translated contemporary Slovenian literature into English under the tutelage of Monika Kavalir, PhD. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by our peers and introduced to the poems, their background, and to sites in the city that carried significance for the works: statues of the authors, former places of work or of residence, toponyms, or simply locations referred to in the texts.
After a busy afternoon and evening devoted to questions of metaphors, meter and rhyme, to carefully weighed decisions on transparency and fidelity … and finally to orthography and punctuation, the trip concluded with a literary tour on the morning of the 25th that saw the original poems and the translations performed publically in the charming centre of Ljubljana.
Eventually, the English and German versions are to find their way into a brochure the Tourism Board of the City of Ljubljana is planning to publish in September 2019.
For more pictures from the excursion see: http://www.ff.uni-lj.si/100letFF/zapisi/literarne-poti-ljubljane-v-angle%C5%A1%C4%8Dini-nem%C5%A1%C4%8Dini
Text and photo by Gregor Chudoba (gregor [dot] chudoba [at] aau [dot] at)
