Translation as creation

Edward Balcerzan

Translated by Kasia Szymańska

in: Edward Balcerzan, Stanisław Barańczak, Literature from literature, , sdvig press, 2020

Abstract

In this 1982 essay, Balcerzan discusses how closely translation and original literary writing are intertwined. Looking at the historical relativism of translation norms and the question of authorship of literary translation throughout Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and beyond, Balcerzan’s essay offers a window on the development of Russian and Polish literature in the era of pre-Romantic translation. According to Balcerzan, the pre-Romantic age of artistic “syncretism” does not fit contemporary assumptions and blurrs any clear definition of authorship in the text that is literary translation. As the forces of creation and recreation blend in one artistic utterance, translation practices are governed by two intersecting principles: the principle of apocrypha (reverse plagiarism) and the principle of annexation (plagiarism). While dismantling the ideas of authorship, originality, and creativity Balcerzan’s text offers a theoretical framework for creative innovations in literary translation within the Slavic tradition, for instance, among the Old Slavonic booksellers and in the context of the Polish Baroque.