Małgorzata Gaszyńska-Magiera

Memory has been one of the main topics of universal literature, and nowadays postmemorial prose is an important trend in Polish literature. This leads to the question whether the specific character of this literature poses a distinctive challenge for translators, and consequently, whether its translations should be treated as a separate issue within the field of translation studies. In turn, the latest research on memory shows that contemporary societies are built of numerous social groups, which time and again have conflicting interests and consequently, cultivate different memory practices regarding the same past events. Memory is treated as a dynamic phenomenon, undergoing transformations through time and space, and hence is constantly actualised. There are five factors which determine the movement of memory: carriers, media, contents, practices and forms. Memory can “travel” thanks to various kinds of media, e.g. monuments. Another specific medium of memory is translation: it allows the contents of memory included in the source work to travel to another cultural space. This has allowed us to approach literary translation from a fresh perspective and developed a set of new research directions, which have been listed in this paper.

Memory has been one of the main topics of the universal literature and nowadays postmemorial prose is an important trend of the Polish literature. A question arises whether the specific character of these works constitutes a peculiar challenge for translators and, thus, whether their translations should be treated as a separate issue within the field of translation studies. Recent memory studies show that contemporary societies consist of many social groups which often have conflicting interests and, therefore, they cultivate different memory practices regarding the same past events. Memory is treated as a dynamic phenomenon, which may be transformed in time and space, so it is constantly actualized. There are five factors which determine movements of memory: carriers, media, contents, practices and forms. Memory may travel thanks to media of different kind, e.g. monuments. Translation can be considered a memory medium, too; it allows memory contents to travel to another cultural space. This approach lets us look at literary translations from a fresh perspective and, consequently, develop a set of new research directions. This article aims at listing some of them. 

Marzena Chrobak’s book Między światami. Tłumacz ustny oraz komunikacja międzykulturowa w literaturze odkrycia i konkwisty Ameryki is an interesting and bold attempt of reconstructing fi gures of interpreters who – willingly or not – accompanied conquistadors and explorers of the Americas. The book consists of three parts. In the first one the author presents practices of translating and interpreting in the antiquity and in the Middle Ages. Then, thanks to a detailed analysis of various sources, she manages to recreate several portraits of interpreters who worked for conquerors and their successors. Eventually, she examines fi gures of interpreters who appear in literary works of different times. Chrobak’s book is one of very few works in Poland discussing history of translation. The author reveals her erudition, recalling numerous data and details. However, this abundance of facts and information makes reading diffi cult, especially for a reader who is not an expert on the history of the discovery and the conquest of the Americas.

This presentation of Zofia Chądzyńska as a translator and an expert on Latin American literature is inspired by Anthony Pym’s remarks regarding the so-called sociology of the translator. The article discusses the extent to which Chądzyńska’s life could affect her decision to become a translator at the the age of fifty, her choices of books to translate and, eventually, her methods. Moreover, the translator’s relationships with well-known writers and her own attempt to become a writer are presented.