"Who Gets Translated and Why? Anthologies of Twentieth-Century Greek Poetry in Poland"

Abstract

The translation of Modern Greek poetry in Poland began on a regular basis at the end of the 1960s and falls into two broad categories: anthologies and the poetry of Cavafy. Cavafy’s work in Polish rendition must be seen as a separate domain: as in other countries, he has overshadowed the achievements of other Modern Greek poets. There is, however, a significant body of work by other poets available to the reader of Polish in anthologies compiled by prolific and influential translators, whose different backgrounds and motivations generate the question of who has been translated and why. This article demonstrates that the selection of poems and modes of translation are largely driven by extraliterary factors such as sociopolitical conditions, the readership, the publishing market, etc. The resultant Polish texts therefore provide a characteristic example of “rewriting” as defined by André Lefevere.