More Than Meaning: The Art of Translation

Translators open the world to us. When they translate novels, plays and poetry into English, we can access cultures in languages we will never speak. 

Translating literature is not a mechanical process. When language is art, the act of translation is as much about aesthetics as meaning. 

Writer Padma Viswanathan, who teaches in the University of Arkansas' Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and translation program, is also a celebrated translator of Portuguese. On this month's Short Talks from the Hill, she explains the practice, art and deeper purpose of translating fiction into English. 

"A translator is working with an original text and also with their own language. And so there are certain things you can and cannot do in English and that you can and cannot do in Portuguese," she said. "And so, within these limitations, linguistic limitations, you're definitely trying to engage in an artistic practice." 

Viswanathan's recent translation of "On Earth as It Is Beneath" by Brazilian novelist Ana Paula Maia was shortlisted for the prestigious International Booker Prize for fiction in English translation. 

Hear more about Viswanathan's work by visiting arkansasresearch.uark.edu or downloading Short Talks wherever you get your podcasts. 

Short Talks from the Hill highlights research, scholarly work and economic impact news at the University of Arkansas.