A small, but maximalist translatological manifesto

or: an explanation of the fact that one also translates poetry with the aim of explaining to other translators that for most translations of poetry there is no explanation

Stanisław Barańczak

Translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

in: Edward Balcerzan, Stanisław Barańczak, Literature from literature, , sdvig press, 2020

Abstract

In this oft-quoted and widely commented text first published in 1990, Barańczak discusses various “semantic dominants” in poetry translation, but also pursues a more critical agenda. The maximalism of the standards for translation meets with the minimalist (“small”) form of his “manifesto” featuring but two points on its list: “Prohibition Number One: Do not translate poetry into prose;” and “Prohibition Number Two: Do not translate good poetry into bad poetry”. Both principles are supposed to work as basic criteria for translation criticism, which Barańczak employs in his own meticulous analyses. Due to its combative tone, this translatological manifesto stirred up controversy among Polish translators, writers, and critics in the early 1990s – especially given that his unfavorable diagnosis of Polish poetry translation was made from the position of an authoritative Harvard-based scholar.