"Stay away from my memories". Why retranslate the classics?

Author(s)

  • Maaike Koffeman Radboud University
  • Marc Smeets Radboud University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51777/relief10897

Keywords:

translation, retranslation, reception, publishing, French literature

Abstract

This issue of Relief is dedicated to (re)translations of French literary classics. Special issue on retranslating the classics of French literature. Possessing a high amount of cultural and symbolic value, the literary classic seems to be a solid editorial and commercial asset. As a result, it often gives rise to multiple reissues and retranslations, which present themselves as being "better" than their predecessors. But to consider retranslation as a response to textual aging would be far too simplistic a perspective. This thematic dossier brings together a number of case studies that highlight the diversity of potential motifs for retranslation.

Author Biographies

  • Maaike Koffeman, Radboud University

    Maaike Koffeman holds a PhD in French literature from Utrecht University (2003). She is Assistant Professor of cultural studies and French literature at Radboud University. Her research focuses on periodical studies and cultural relations between France and the Netherlands.

  • Marc Smeets, Radboud University

    Marc Smeets is Assistant Professor of French literature at Radboud University. He published a thesis titled Huysmans l’inchangé. Histoire d’une conversion (2003) and two edited volumes on the same author in the CRIN series. He has published widely on fin-de-siècle literature. 

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Published

2021-07-07

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2021): (Re)translating the French classics

Section

Editorial

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Maaike Koffeman, Marc Smeets

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

All articles published in RELIEF appear in Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0). Under this licence, authors retain ownership of the copyright of their article, but they allow its unrestricted use, provided it is properly cited.

How to Cite

Koffeman, M. and Smeets, M. (2021) “‘Stay away from my memories’. Why retranslate the classics?”, RELIEF - REVUE ÉLECTRONIQUE DE LITTÉRATURE FRANÇAISE, 15(1), pp. 1–9. doi:10.51777/relief10897.