Interlitteraria

Interpersonal and Professional Relationships in Translating Poetry

Francis R. Jones — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Translating poetry involves multiple actors, each with their own special expertise. Even when a ‘solo’ translator does most or all of the translating, bringing translations to readers means working in a team along with funders, editors and/or publishers, etc. This team operates within a network of wider professional relationships.

The article focuses mainly on relations between ‘translating agents’, who work on the translated text. ‘Text helpers’ assist a solo translator by answering queries about the source poems, advising on target-language wording, or both. When the source poet acts as a text helper, her/his involvement ranges from ‘hands-off ’, via ‘fruitful dialogue’ (where she/he answers queries and spots errors, but leaves the translator to find solutions), to partially or wholly taking over the translating process.

In ‘collaborative (co-)translating’, two or more people translate jointly, ideally working face-to-face in real time. They may both have full solotranslating skills, but jointly revise their drafts. Or a target-language poet who does not know the source language (a ‘target poet’) may work with the source poet. Alternatively, a target poet may collaborate with a ‘language advisor’, an expert in the source language and culture. The ‘poettrio’ configuration involves the source poet, a language advisor, and a target poet. Unfortunately, publicity and book covers often credit only the target poet as the translator, with others only mentioned in notes, if at all.

Dialogue is a key enabler of these interactions. This involves constructive discussions about translating, but also establishing roles and responsibilities, and ensuring that participants remain included in conversations. Conversely, tensions arise when participants feel that others have breached role boundaries, or failed to keep them informed by interpreting talk in the other language. Power hierarchies (between source poet and translator, and between target poet and language advisor) are a reality that participants need to work with. Loyalty (particularly of other translating agents towards the source poet) and mutual trust help reinforce good will and enable productive dialogue. Affective responses also play a key role in the success or otherwise of translating partnerships.

Data for this article are drawn largely from published sources plus the author’s own experience as a poetry translator.

World Poetry and Heteropoetics of Poetry Translation

Jüri Talvet — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A widely circulating commonplace opinion is that translating poetry from one natural language to another natural language is an impossible enterprise. Our pre-World War II influential Estonian literary critic (and writer) Friedebert Tuglas (1886–1971) had fundamental merits publishing the first major selections of Juhan Liiv’s (1864–1913) poetry (1919, 1926) and two monographs on Liiv’s work (1914, 1927) relying on the manuscripts left by Liiv, who died without publishing any poetry book of his own choice. Tuglas was convinced that Liiv’s poetry was untranslatable. That opinion, however, has been put into doubt by the fact that in the 21st century three selections in English have been published of Liiv’s poetry (one in Tartu, Estonia, 2007, and two abroad: Toronto, 2013 and Chisinau-London, 2024), as well as two selections in Italian and one each in Spanish, German, Finnish, Mari and Udmurt. As a poet and translator myself, I have been active in the field of translation, both from foreign languages (Spanish, English and many others) into my native Estonian, as well as collaborating with foreign language native (poet-)translators in an effort to make the wider world aware of Juhan Liiv’s poetic genius and exceptionality. My book in two volumes Valitud tõlkeluulet I–II (Selected Poetic Translations I–II) (2021) gathers translated samples of world poetry by nearly 150 authors from all parts of the world, published over half a century (1970–2020). I suppose any person who has with some persistence dedicated a substantial part of his/her life to translating poetry has gradually moulded some kind of creative philosophy (poetics). Such a philosophy does not need to be exhausted by discussion (discourse) on translating poetry and its ideals – that is, by explicitness. Much more can be discovered and learned by closer research on translations themselves and the practical process (which often contradicts ideals…). Looking back at my creative path in this field, I would define my translation philosophy and practice as ‘heteropoetic’, for one thing because I have not remained faithful to my early principles or considerations, which were strongly conditioned and influenced by my predecessors. All the same, today I still very much respect their ideals, even though they may differ from mine. I sincerely admire many translations achieved by the older generation. In my university lectures over several decades I have introduced my students to these translations and have tried to explain the factors of their rare success. The other aspect of heteropoetics is my conviction, crystallised during the past half a century, that one cannot apply the same translation principles to whatever poetic texts. Every successful poetic work is an individual and exceptional creative-poetic deed. Accordingly, I have tried to find in my native language such means that would allow me to resuscitate the original work here in Estonia, in another and different culture. It is a complex topic. To briefly summarise its kernel, the liberties of a poetry translator, above all in what concerns the (external) form of the original work, should be the greatest possible. On the other hand, I consider as absolute the responsibility of a translator before the original creator. This means creating in another language a work that aspires to be as close as possible to the spiritual and mental content of the original image.

Ringing the Changes: Translating Aleksis Kivi’s Most Famous Poem into English

Douglas Robinson — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the challenges of translating Aleksis Kivi’s poem “Ikävyys” (1866) within broader debates in translation theory. Although Kivi is widely regarded as the founder of Finnish literature, this bleak and metrically irregular poem has received less attention than his prose and drama. The essay argues that the poem’s fractured and inconsistent meter – often seen as a formal failure – should instead be understood as proto-modern experimentation anticipating later developments in poetic form, including those of T. S. Eliot.

Through close analysis of disrupted dactylic patterns, phonetic density, and rhythmic impediments, the article shows how the poem slows reading and produces an embodied experience that mirrors the speaker’s depressive stasis. This creates a productive tension between abstract metrical structure and the phenomenology of reading, which is central to the poem’s expressive force.

To explore how these effects translate into English, four strategies are compared: literal, rhythm-for-rhythm, iambic, and homophonic. Each captures certain aspects of the original while distorting others: rhythm-for-rhythm smooths irregularities, iambic translation domesticates the meter but retains some resistance, and homophonic translation foregrounds sound over meaning. The article ultimately advocates a perspectivist approach, suggesting that multiple partial translations together offer a fuller understanding of the poem’s complexity.

The Poetic Voices of the Tragic Chorus in Baltic Theatre: Translation, Adaptation, and Stage Practice

Līva Bodniece, Jovita Dikmonienė, Maria-Kristiina Lotman — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the translation, adaptation and staging of the Greek tragic chorus across Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian theatrical traditions. Treating the chorus as an intersection of poetic text, ritual performance and collective voice, the study analyses a spectrum of choral transfer strategies, ranging from maximum textual fidelity to mediated or minimal forms and, in some cases, complete absence. Drawing on selected productions and translations from the 20th and 21st centuries, the article demonstrates how different theatrical traditions negotiate the tension between philological ambition and contemporary performance practices. The comparative analysis reveals how the tragic chorus gives voice to changing ideas of collectivity, authority and civic meaning. Across theatrical practices in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, choral transfer appears as a dynamic process in which ancient drama is continually reinterpreted and reshaped in response to changing aesthetic, political and social conditions.

Poetry Translations during Political Transformation: The Case of Spanish

Ehte Puhang — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper explores the changes that took place in publishing poetry translated from Spanish into Estonian between 1988 and 2017, a period of profound political transformation. Within the framework of this research, ‘Spanish’ is understood as the Spanish-related literary system, encompassing also the co-official languages of Spain and indigenous languages of Spanish-speaking America, thus also the role of Salvador Espriu and the first direct translation from K’iche’ are discussed. An overview is given of general trends in publishing during the 1990s and early 2000s. The cultural and political importance of the revised editions published in the 1990s is discussed. For poetry translations from Spanish, the new era started in 2009 and is characterised by bilingual editions and the predominance of academic publications, but also by self-publishing and the emergence of a new generation of translators (Carolina Pihelgas, Mariliin Vassenin).

A Case Study in Poetic Translation and Ideology: the Italian Reception of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s Poetry

Maurizia Calusio, Stefano Fumagalli — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article investigates the Italian reception of Vladimir Mayakovsky’s poetry as a case study of the relationship between poetic translation and ideology. Based on a corpus of 96 Italian translations published in book form between 1923 and 2025, it reconstructs Mayakovsky’s trajectory within the Italian literary polysystem and identifies three major phases in his reception. Adopting a bifocal methodology that combines cultural-historical analysis with close textual readings, the study examines processes of selection, ideological marking, and translation strategies. The first phase (1914–1945) is marked by marginalisation and predominantly informative translations. The second phase (1946–1979) corresponds to Mayakovsky’s canonisation as the “poet of the Revolution”, with translations privileging ideological content over formal experimentation, while also giving rise to alternative poetic readings, most notably by Angelo Maria Ripellino. The third phase, emerging after 1989, reflects a post-ideological climate and renewed scholarly attention to Mayakovsky’s love poetry. The article argues that Mayakovsky’s Italian reception has been continuously reshaped by shifting ideological frameworks, with poet-translators playing a key mediating role.

Translation Amid Ideological Constraints and Poetic Freedom: The Case of Pablo Neruda and César Vallejo in Albanian

Vjollca Osja, Brikena Smajli — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates the translation and reception of Pablo Neruda and César Vallejo in Albania during the period of socialist realism, focusing on the ways in which translation functioned as a culturally and ideologically mediated practice rather than a neutral act of literary transfer. Closely embedded within the ideological framework and cultural politics of the socialist state, translation played a decisive role in shaping both the Albanian reception of these Latin American poets and the broader discourse on foreign literature in the country. The paper is grounded in a preliminary bibliographic survey of translations and critical responses to Latin American authors published in Albanian during the Cold War, a period marked by strict ideological control and the dominance of socialist realist aesthetics.

Within this cultural environment, translation was a highly regulated process in which the selection of texts, translation strategies, and accompanying paratextual materials were carefully orchestrated to produce ideologically acceptable representations of foreign authors. Translators operated under significant institutional and political pressure to align literary works with prevailing socialist values, often resulting in selective translation practices or substantial modifications to the original texts. Such interventions frequently entailed deviations from the authors’ poetic complexity in order to foreground elements compatible with revolutionary discourse and socialist ideals.

In the case of Neruda and Vallejo, text selection consistently privileged poems that emphasised political engagement, collective struggle and social commitment, while marginalising or excluding more personal, metaphysical or existential dimensions of their poetics. As a result, the translated works underwent a process of ideological filtering that profoundly shaped Albanian readers’ perceptions of these authors. This study examines how these translation practices contributed to the construction of a partial and often rigid image of Neruda’s and Vallejo’s literary output in Albanian culture, ultimately producing a simplified and, at times, distorted understanding of their broader poetic trajectories.

From the Heights of Macchu Picchu to the world: a few pathways for Pablo Neruda’s ruin poetry

Delphine Rumeau — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“Alturas de Macchu Picchu” (the Heights of Macchu Picchu), part of Pablo Neruda’s Canto general, has enjoyed a remarkably international reception, which may be surprising given it is a poem ostensibly rooted in a specific place, Machu Picchu in Peru. The article seeks to understand this global reception and to measure the radial dimensions of “Alturas de Macchu Picchu”. It frames the poem within Canto general, using a genetic and historical approach in order to establish a sense of the interplay of the local and the general in the making of the work. It then focuses on “Alturas de Macchu Picchu” itself, from a textual and intertextual perspective, showing how the poem turns Machu Picchu into a continental nexus, connected to a large space and a deep history. This seemingly topographical poem is also entangled with multiple poetic traditions, ranging from Dante to baroque Spanish poetry. The article ends with a few selected examples of illustrated editions of the poem in translation (in English, French and Ukrainian), which tend to highlight either the local dimension or the global. Taken together, illustrated editions and translations stretch what was compressed in the poem. Approaching the poem from the angle of its reception unfolds its multiple spatial layers.

The Image of the Danube in Romanian Poetry

Monica Manolachi — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article surveys the evolving renditions of the Danube in Romanian poetry from the nineteenth century to the present, situating them within broader cultural, historical, and ecological frameworks. Inspired by a personal rediscovery of the river and informed by Bruno Latour’s concept of the “parliament of things,” the study approaches the Danube as a voice-bearing agent, whose meanings emerge from the interaction between natural processes and human histories. Drawing on an interdisciplinary perspective from Danube studies, it examines how Romanian poets have envisioned the river as a complex subject, the multiple roles it has played in their works, and the contexts in which it becomes a meaningful theme. At the same time, it traces the evolution of poetic visions across a succession of literary waves spanning nearly 170 years, paying close attention to shifts in thematic focus and stylistic expression. In doing so, it foregrounds the Danube as a dynamic site of memory, refracted through diverse interpretive lenses: from its early construction as a stage for heroic struggles to its more recent reconfiguration as a space marked by ecological awareness and contemporary environmental concerns. Through close readings of major poets and diverse poetic forms, the article demonstrates how the Danube functions as both cultural archive and active participant in social life. By integrating literary analysis with environmental and political theory, it argues that Romanian poetry contributes to reimagining human– nonhuman relations and offers a critical resource for understanding identity, memory, and responsibility in Central and Eastern Europe.

„So wollen wir leben und reisen!“ New Lights on the Wandering Poem around 1800 and Beyond

Liina Lukas — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

“So wollen wir leben und reisen!” (So, let us live and travel!) is the last line of the poem “Werstpfähle, Von Dörpt nach Riga und weiter” (“Milestones, from Tartu to Riga and beyond”), written in 1812 by Casimir Ulrich Boehlendorff (1755–1825) from Courland, now part of Latvia. I begin my article with Boehlendorff’s poem for several reasons. First, last year (2025) marked the 250th anniversary of his birth and the 200th anniversary of his death. Second, I want to draw attention to a poet who, though writing in German, lived and worked outside Europe’s literary centres and therefore did not receive the recognition his work merited, a fate shared by many talented poets from the so-called ‘periphery’ of European literature, especially those from ‘small’ literatures, whose poems often remain accessible only through translation. Third, because of an interesting historical parallel in Estonian literature: seven years after Boehlendorff ’s journey from Tartu to Riga, which is the subject of the aforementioned poem, in June 1819, Estonian poet Kristian Jaak Peterson (1801–1822) walked the same route on foot. And fourth, Boehlendorff ’s poem offers an excellent starting point for a discussion of the phenomenon of ‘wandering poetry’ (Wanderlyrik, Reiselyrik, ambulante Poesie).

In Boehlendorff’s time, around 1800, wandering poetry – poems that invite the reader to wander, thematise wandering and are written while wandering – was in vogue. Poets, sons of the Muses, went on journeys into the great outdoors and recorded their wanderings in verse. Wandering had become a new way of discovering both the external world and the inner self. Boehlendorff was such a romantic wanderer, “a vagabond, who wanders the world and describes his wanderings in verse. In fifteen years, he has walked some twenty thousand miles”, as the Russian poet Vassily Zhukovsky wrote to Alexander Turgenev in 1817.

This paper will address the following questions: What are the possibilities of depicting such a linear and narrative (epic) activity as wandering in poetry? What exactly does ‘wandering poetry’ mean? What did it mean in Romanticism, and what are the lyrical representations of wandering in the 20th century, when the ‘wandering’ was often a forced journey, a journey into exile, displacement or banishment? Drawing on Boehlendorff’s poetry, I will point to three modes of expressing wandering in Romantic poems. I will give examples from both large and small literatures.

Für unsere Nationalen: Baltic German contribution to Latvian poetry in the 19th century

Māra Grudule — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The article examines 19th-century Latvian literature within the Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire (Kurzeme and Vidzeme), emphasising its emergence in the context of complex social, cultural and national interrelations. Focusing on Latvian-language literary criticism, theory and poetry, the analysis traces the decisive influence of German (primarily Baltic German) culture, while demonstrating that Latvian literature evolved because of a gradual and fluid transition from a predominantly translated corpus into a national literature with its own agency. The study highlights the paradoxical yet foundational role of Baltic Germans in the rise of Latvian national literature. Through patronage, education and publication opportunities, Baltic Germans enabled the rise of the first Latvian poets and a new intelligentsia, gradually transferring literary production into Latvian hands. The article outlines three major areas of Baltic German contribution to Latvian poetry: (1) the establishment of poetic theory and terminology; (2) the landscape of 19th-century Latvian poetry; and (3) the function of local German literary culture as a crucial model during the formation of Latvia’s national discourse in the latter half of the century. Ultimately, the study argues that 19th-century Latvian literature – which was situated between translation, imitation, adaptation and originality – constitutes a uniquely productive transitional phenomenon. It merits continued scholarly attention and necessitates the incorporation of Latvian-language texts by Baltic Germans into a broader, integrated framework of Baltic and Eastern-Central European literary history.

Poetry for Estonian Peasants. Friedrich Nikolai Russow’s volume of translated poetry Ued kandlekeled (New Harp‑Strings 1854)

Maris Saagpakk — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The article examines Ued kandlekeled (New Harp Strings, 1854), a collection of German poetry translated into Estonian by Friedrich Nikolai Russow (1828–1906), situating it within the broader context of nineteenthcentury Estonian translation culture and nation-building processes. During this period, translation played a crucial role in the formation of Estonianlanguage literature, as German functioned as the dominant language of education and intellectual exchange, while Estonian was largely confined to lower social strata. Russow’s volume represents an early and conceptually significant attempt to introduce German lyric poetry to an Estonian peasant readership while simultaneously demonstrating the expressive and poetic potential of the Estonian language.

The article analyses the composition of the volume, Russow’s selection of texts, and his translation strategies, showing how translated poems are framed by original compositions and arranged to form a coherent thematic progression. Although the collection contains only a limited number of poems, it functions as a carefully curated early anthology encompassing various lyrical genres, from folk-inspired songs to elegies and ballads. Particular attention is paid to Russow’s translations of canonical German poets such as Goethe, Heine, and Eichendorff. The analysis highlights Russow’s stylistic flexibility, which ranges from close, metrically sensitive translations to freer adaptations involving omission and substitution, depending on genre and his perception of audience expectations.

The article argues that Ued kandlekeled exemplifies a transitional phase in Estonian literary history, characterized by the overlap of translation, adaptation, and original writing as well as a subtle critique of Germanization. The collection thus constitutes a significant milestone in the development of Estonian poetic language and early translation norms.

The Significance of Imagination in Becoming a Nation: Poetry in Late Nineteenth- Century Lithuanian Newspapers Aušra and Varpas

Gitana Vanagaitė — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article examines the role of poetry published in the late nineteenth-century Lithuanian monthly periodicals Aušra (The Dawn, 1883– 1886) and Varpas (The Bell, 1889–1905) in shaping modern Lithuanian national consciousness. Although Aušra has traditionally been interpreted within the paradigm of Romanticism, the article argues that its poetry cannot be considered Romantic in the full aesthetic sense. Instead, it functioned primarily as an instrumental, socially oriented discourse that employed selected Romantic motifs in the service of nation-building.

Drawing on theories of nationalism (Miroslav Hroch), narrative and cultural imagination (Martin Puchner), and productive imagination (Paul Ricoeur), the article analyses how poetic language in Aušra constructed an imagined homeland grounded in moral values, historical idealisation, and collective identity rather than individual subjectivity. Particular attention is given to prophetic and religious rhetoric, images of divine protection, and the figure of the committed individual, all of which together shaped practical models of ethical and social behaviour.

While Aušra’s poetry relied on prophetic and moral imagination oriented toward collective awakening, Varpas transformed imagination into a productive civic force, shaping models of responsible action and individual commitment. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s concept of productive imagination, the article argues that poetry in Varpas no longer projects an ideal future but actively shapes models of civic action and responsibility.

Rhythmic Clausulae in Dante’s Latin Prose Texts and in their Italian Translations Using Examples from De Vulgari Eloquentia and Monarchia

Annika Mikkel — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper studies Dante’s Latin prose and its Italian translations. The texts observed in this analysis are the samples of De Monarchia and De vulgari eloquentia. In ancient rhetoric, rhythmic units were used at the ends of sentences and clauses in prose texts. Medieval Latin prose rhythm was based on word stress and was called cursus. Generally, it is believed that the most prevalent clauses during the Middle Ages were cursus planus, cursus velox, cursus tardus and cursus trispondaicus. The aim of this paper is to compare the frequency of cursus in the original Latin texts and in their Italian translations. The research method used is comparative-statistical analysis.

Front Matter

Editors — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Front Matter

About the Authors

Editors — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

About the Authors

Editorial

Liina Lukas, Rebekka Lotman — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Editorial