Translating Persian Poetry and its Discontents

Abstract

Poetry is widely considered to be untranslatable. Notwithstanding the preponderance of theories which insist on the impossibility of poetry translation, poetry has been translated for millennia around the world. In this article, I discuss the untranslatability of poetry by drawing upon my experience as a translator of Persian poetry into English. By considering how the concept and experience of the poetic varies across different cultures, I discuss the development of global poetry in the translational interstices between languages and cultures. In this conception, the poetic belongs to the world and is not confined to any single language. In the end, I argue, untranslatability should not be seen to constitute interdiction against translation.