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“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
“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
“I never knew anybody . . . who found life simple. I think a life or a time looks simple when you leave out the details.”
― The Birthday of the World and Other Stories
― The Birthday of the World and Other Stories
“I think the Greek New Testament is the strongest and most successful misreading of a great prior text in the entire history of influence.”
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“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
Ecenur’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ecenur’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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