Need for new translations and interpretations of the world classics

There is nothing new under the sun. All or nearly all books have already been translated – at least when it comes to world classics. However, new translations continue to appear. There seems to be no sense in taking on this laborious task. Is it even possible to give a new voice to Homer or Shakespeare? What is the risk of diverging from the original when trying to adapt classic books for today’s readers?

Participants:

Moderator

• Alyona Karimova, writer, translator (Russia)

Speakers

• Irina Barmetova, literary critic, member of Russian PEN-Center, chief editor of Oktyabr magazine (Russia)
• Yves Gauthier, writer (France)
• Svyatoslav Gorodetsky, translator, poet (Russia)
• Chemen Taganova, translator (Turkmenistan)
• Zara Mohammadi , translator (Iran)
• Alejandro Ariel González, translator, President of the Dostoevsky Society of Argentina (Argentina)