Obligatory plug for Le Ton Beau de Marot, by Douglas Hofstadter. He explains his accidental fascination with the translation of a simple short minor poem from R

Obligatory plug for Le Ton Beau de Marot, by Douglas Hofstadter. He explains his accidental fascination with the translation of a simple short minor poem from Renaissance French into English. He experimented with a few different approaches to translating it (preserve the rhyme? the meter? the avuncular tone? write it in Shakespearean-style English because it's old?) and then began to challenge his friends and colleagues and students to make their own translation. The act of translation is a beautifully subtle one, built on decisions of what elements of construction, theme, presentation, meaning, context to preserve, adapt, or abandon. It's also a personal tale of a difficult time in Hofstadter's life. I found it moving and enlightening. Much recommended! Hofstadter talks with a lot of different translators, including the much-beloved translator of Stanislaw Lem's works, Michael Kandel. Kandel's rendition of the poem of Trurl's Electronic Bard is rightly famous. The ever-astonishing Marcin Wichary (a native speaker of Polish) reproduces, and discusses it, here: https://medium.com/@mwichary/seduced-shaggy-samson-snored-725b5a8086d9 https://medium.com/@mwichary/seduced-shaggy-samson-snored-72...