Masterpieces in an Inferno. Censorship in Cold War Translation Experiences (Micaela Ghițescu’s and Antoaneta Ralian’s Memoirs)

Abstract

"The difficult problem of accurately translating both form and message takes a complicated turn when we refer to the translation of literature under Cold War totalitarian regimes. On the one hand, translation was a field in which many Romanian writers or prestigious intellectuals took refuge when banished from other cultural or academic professions. On the other hand, the system involved all along the phenomenon of censorship and self-censorship, literary purges and the organisation of secret funds. These political interferences that marked the translation process are discussed in the memoirs which serve as the focus of this paper."