The writer as translator : the Einaudi series Scrittori tradotti da scrittori

Abstract

This study investigates translation by creative writers as a separate instance from translation by ‘ordinary’ (professional) translators. The research takes its cue from the Einaudi series ‘Scrittori tradotti da scrittori’. The obvious questions raised by that most unusual publishing project - ‘Do translators translate differently?’, ‘Do they translate better?’, ‘In what way?’, ‘Why?’, etc. - are central to the study. In order to frame these general questions in a real-world context, the research is structured in such a way that the theoretical debate relates as far as possible to an analysis of translations by writers. The thesis therefore is divided into two parts.