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Unread 02-02-2018, 08:58 AM
Orwn Acra Orwn Acra is offline
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AZ, I commented because what you said seems to contradict what you expressed in this thread and in particular when you said "Perhaps this accounts for some of the paradoxical modern dislike for literary translations of poetry that in various ways make the reader unsure of whether to admire the translator or the "original" poet or both. We are not equipped to handle or appreciate creativity when it takes the form of adaptation or appropriation of others' work." I realize you were talking about poetry but I think the same applies to Burton who seems to be working in the same tradition, which is what I meant by "spirit of the thing.” I had mentioned the element of deceitfulness in that thread and I don't find what Burton does deceitful--the fustiness of his prose suggests he was going for an unnatural style, one that was very much his own and doesn’t seem to be presented as literal. But anyway you said that deceit is "mostly in the eye of the beholder" so it doesn’t matter. My point about drawing a line around Burton is that many people have added to the Nights; you gave the example of Galland. So why is it a problem when Burton does it? Maybe because you don’t like his writing style or his stories, but that is a different issue. And I don’t see how there can be “inexplicable additions” because such a thing implies a definitive edition against which one could measure the authenticity (not the right word, but will do for now) of Burton’s additions. You are right of course that many religious texts have no or had no definitive version, but that is why so much effort has gone into creating such a thing; I am thinking for instance of the scramble after Mohammad’s death by Uthman and friends to collect and write down the hadiths in standard edition so that corruptions could not occur.

We are in agreement regarding criticisms of the Orientalists. I think even Edward Said came to regret opening that door.
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