The Writer's Double: Translation, Writing, and Autobiography

Abstract

Self-translation is generally considered as something marginal, a sort of cultural or literary oddity, as a borderline case of both translation and literary studies. Recent research in the history of this particular area has shown that self-translation has a long tradition, continues to be a widespread phenomenon in several cultures, and is closely linked to the representation of self. In this context, this paper seeks to explore the links between creative writing, self-translation, and autobiography through a reading of Francesca Duranti's novels. The first part of the essay gives a brief overview of her fictional representations of the 'split self'; the second part focuses on the production of a 'double text': Sogni mancini (1996), and the English self-translation, Left-handed Dreams (2000). It is argued that the process of self-translation is often associated with the problematization of identities, and that bilingualism is sometimes used as a way to regenerate writing. This type of writing is explicitly associated with the movement of the writer him/herself as is the case with Duranti, who draws on her own experience as a migrant from one culture to another to reflect on what it means to be 'translated' both geographically and textually. Translation becomes an integral part in the creation, embodiment, and voicing of meaning and identity.