Words, Images and Performances in Translation

This collection comprises a lucid and engaging discussion of all the ways translators may (or perhaps necessarily must) "nudge," "tickle" or even "sabotage" a source text. Wilson and Maher have brought together a diverse group of researchers who each creatively challenge the dominion of the original, question the directionality of global cultural flows, and above all highlight the many complexities to be negotiated. Translation, rightly conceived of as a means of both underscoring and eliding difference, is presented here as a form of mediation that serves a deep hermeneutic purpose while offering scope for "play," "replay" and "interplay." The notion of text is helpfully given the broadest possible definition: with examples drawn from print ads to football to theatrical performance, these essays delve insightfully into the international circulation of various cultural products. A worthy addition to the Translation Studies library.--Sanford Lakoff