Topics in Creative Writing: Creative Translation

Catalog description

This introductory course welcomes all students with an interest in language as a medium of creative expression. Unlike other creative writing classes, here the emphasis is on writing in and across multiple languages rather than on writing in one language. This does not mean students must be competent in more than one language or have previous creative writing experience, only that students have both a strong interest in creative writing and a deep curiosity about how much of the great writing that helps shape our experience of the world comes to us through translation in one form or another. Students will work individually and in small teams to translate exemplary short works of prose and poetry into English (primarily but not necessarily exclusively from Chinese; depending on student interests and backgrounds we may also translate into Chinese or other languages). Students will also write their own short creative poetry and prose, and work together to translate one another’s work into at least one other language. We will often work with cribs — basic rough translations that require further careful work as a reader, researcher and a creative writer to render as texts that succeed in a new language. Students will study basic translation theory and concepts, then work to put those concepts into practice as translators and as critical readers. We will discuss ethical questions that arise when we bring work from one culture into another, as well as the increasing importance of helping people from different cultural backgrounds understand one another. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: This course counts as an elective class towards the creative writing minor.