“Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.”
― A Man Without a Country
― A Man Without a Country
“The word 'translation' comes, etymologically, from the Latin for 'bearing across'. Having been borne across the world, we are translated men. It is normally supposed that something always gets lost in translation; I cling, obstinately to the notion that something can also be gained.”
― Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991
― Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991
“There is no such thing as a perfect, ideal, or 'correct' translation. A translator is always trying to extend his knowledge and improve his means of expression; he is always pursuing facts and words.”
― Manual de traducción (Linguistica / Linguistic)
― Manual de traducción (Linguistica / Linguistic)
“It is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language that is under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation of that work.”
― Illuminations: Essays and Reflections
― Illuminations: Essays and Reflections
“So many people consider their work a daily punishment. Whereas I love my work as a translator. Translation is a journey over a sea from one shore to the other. Sometimes I think of myself as a smuggler: I cross the frontier of language with my booty of words, ideas, images, and metaphors.”
― Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio
― Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio
Kristin’s 2025 Year in Books
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