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Target
Vol. 32:1 (2020) ► pp.122–142

Luciano Bianciardi

Interventionist translation in the age of mechanical labour

ORCID logo | University of Urbino
Starting with a discussion of ‘translator-centred’ translation studies, this article discusses the Italian writer Luciano Bianciardi as translation practitioner and theorist. Working in the age of mechanical labour and mechanical typewriters, Bianciardi translated at incredible speed, putting in physically exhausting daily shifts. Not surprisingly, he articulated a vision of his trade that associated it with the physical effort of shifting heavy loads of mud – a job he had seen performed by labourers in his native Tuscany. However, he saw the process of ‘turning over’ this linguistic mud as no mere slavish effort: just as he ‘infected’ his original writings with his own target texts, Bianciardi consciously imbued his translations with his personality and his style.
Keywords: Luciano Bianciardi, English-Italian translation, the translator’s turn, metaphors of translation, translation as intervention, translation and material culture
Article outline
  • 1.Translator-centred translation studies
  • 2.Luciano Bianciardi as translator and writer
  • 3.Translation as a source of guilt and pride
  • 4.Conclusion: Translation as creativity
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 1 November 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.19062.mor
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