Poetry

A translator reads an individual text: "As long as they consider poetry rather than poems, they will find themselves inclined to leave behind the essential dynamics of the meaningful movement and organization of the individual poem". In Stylistic Approaches to Translation Jean Boase-Beier explains how understanding stylistics can make literary translators more effective. Translation pedagogy presumes that the novice translator possesses a limited knowledge of the subject and the language. Perhaps the most crucial lesson to be gleaned from the translation workshop is the role of creativity. Students often possess what seems to be an inexhaustible flexibility when faced with intricate poetry. As Jones explains, practitioners often rely on source-language experts "because poetry translation demands such high source-text interpretation and target-text production skills". Jones argues that poetry translators have more power within their individual projects than other kinds of translators since they often serve as editors and language advisors as well.