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Article: Translating Ungaretti.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Quadrant
- Article date:
- December 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Quadrant Magazine Company, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Selected Poems, by Giuseppe Ungaretti, translated by Andrew Frisardi; Carcanet, 2003, about $50.
THE TASK of a translator is a thankless one; the best that one can hope for is that the criticism will be counterbalanced by an equal measure of praise. Where poetry is concerned, such a balm is as rare as phoenix tears.
Much has been written on translating and the un-translatability of poetry. Among the plethora of material Gerald Hammond's essay "English Translations of the Bible" (in The Literary Guide to the Bible, 1987) stands out as one of the best overviews of the translating process. The insights he offers in comparing modern English translations of ...