3 ms·
Emily Wilson's translation is way better, more modern and adequate to present-day readers and, probably more context aware.
by ktzar 2mo ago
Emily Wilson's translation is way better, more modern and adequate to present-day readers and, probably more context aware.
- paytonjjones 2mo agoMaybe it's just me, but "modern" and "context-aware" are the two things I most want to avoid when seeking out a translation of an ancient text.
- dbuxton 2mo agoThere's no such thing as a "timeless" translation - if you read something written by Victorians you'll get all sorts of overlaid assumptions and biases, just ones that are unfamiliar
- suddenlybananas 2mo agoThey didn't say they wanted a timeless translation.
- adamdb 2mo agoContinually revising a text to be modern and context-aware would indeed make it timeless.
- paytonjjones 2mo agoFor me, that unfamiliarity is precisely the point of reading something ancient.
- Bootvis 2mo agoThen you need to read the original. A translator is a product of their time.
- spinchange 2mo agoI love Wilson's work and take it as inspiration. Incidentally, I spotted an error in the first printing of her Odyssey that the publisher acknowledged on twitter and fixed in subsequent printings. I am not a professional, just an obsessive with a special interest. In a spirit of intellectual honesty, the fact that she is reportedly re-translating The Odyssey again is an indication that one of perfect adequacy might be elusive.