grindy

Anyone else really reluctant to read translated poetry?
I know firsthand how much even a good translation can ruin literature and with poetry this seems to be even more of an issue than with prose.
I just can't read any translated poem without that thought lingering in my head and overshadowing everything else.

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.

Frownland

I agree to an extent, but not all translations are equal and you can research how they were translated pretty easily. W. G. Sebald was involved with the German to English translation of all his books and they turned out fantastic (I don't have any idea what the German versions are like though).

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

grindy

I've read a lot of books in two, sometimes three languages and something very essential is always lost.
The only exception might be Nabokov's Russian translation of Lolita, but that's because he's a singular genius with both languages.

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.