Two sides of the translation story

The resignations of two would-be translators for Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem has, of course, stirred up debate among the translation community (as well as the rest of the world).

Neither Marieke Lucas Rijneveld nor Victor Obiols, who were to bring “The Hill We Climb” into Dutch and Catalan, respectively, are Black like Gorman.

One school of thought finds this problematic for a number of reasons, one of which is that Gorman’s identity is tied in with her writing; you can read more on that general reaction in Asymptote journal.

But some have posited that a difference between the original writer and their translator is actually essential, given that the work itself is traveling from one cultural experience to another (so to speak) — read more on that thought in The Conversation.

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