Translation and Print Culture in Latin America

Abstract

This chapter discusses the interplay between translation and publishing in Latin America. Framed as print culture, the concept allows for an expanded discussion of translation as linked to the materiality of texts, the modes of circulation of translated narratives, and the forms of sociability of translation praxis. The chapter begins with a discussion of the relevance of this concept to understand the relationship between translation and cultural history in the Americas. Then, it provides a historical overview of the relationship between print and translation in Latin America, followed by a focus on the twentieth century, a period that saw a shift in the circulation of books and periodicals throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. This period was key for translation as it was a time when the publishing industry grew and diversified, and Latin American authors were in conversation with one another and became more widely known internationally. The chapter discusses books and cultural magazines, as both have been major ways for intellectuals throughout the continent to develop and maintain strategic conversations within and beyond national borders. The discussion of specific cases focuses on two twentieth-century examples: Mexico’s publishing house, Fondo de Cultura Económica, and Cuban cultural magazine Revista Casa de las Américas. It ends with a brief reflection on recent shifts in publishing and print culture in the twenty-first century and possible research paths emerging from the interplay between translation and print culture.