Verse translations made by translators not fluent in the source language form a significant part of modern and contemporary American poetry. Translators working in this manner, which represents an old literary tradition, generally collaborate with native speakers (informants) and/or use literal translations (trots). The translation process used by these translators is not fully appreciated by readers and scholars alike. Moreover, this approach to translating poetry is not widely taught in creative writing programs today. Our panel will address the issues that surround the art of translating verse without fluency in the source language, and will discuss the ways by which this tradition might be advanced so that it continues to contribute to the necessary border crossings of our literature.
