Translating Floating Islands: An Anthology
"The Word, which I interpret the Flying or Floating Island, is in the
Original Laputa; whereof I could never learn the true Etymology. Lap in the
old obsolete Language signifieth High, and Untuh a Governor; from which
they say by Corruption was derived Laputa, from Lapuntuh. But I do not
approve of this Derivation, which seems to be a little strained. I ventured
to offer to the Learned among them a Conjecture of my own, that Laputa was
quasi Lap outed; Lap signifying properly the dancing of the Sun Beams in
the Sea; and outed a Wing, which however I shall not obtrude, but submit to
the judicious Reader."
Jonathan Swift - Gullivers Travels (Part III - Chapter II)
Following a long literary tradition where islands are represented as
Utopias, Dystopias and Eden Arcadias, recent cultural theorizing has also
frequently drawn attention to islands and their significance in ideological
formations of identity and difference. Islands appear as metonyms for an
'authentic', 'organic' and integrated culture, and the nation/island
identification has been important within post-colonial revisions,
contemporary migrations and border-crossings and the problems of
translation that these entail. Islands have also been seen as the sites of
evolution of isolated life forms of interest to scientific practice in
such disciplines as anthropology, geology, zoology.
We would like to ask for contributions for a proposed two-volume anthology
of poetry, short stories, creative and critical essays, which explore and
create bridges between real and imaginary islands as well as crossings
between genres and disciplines. In the first volume, the focus will be on
islands that are situated geographically on the European periphery, and the
second will focus on islands and European post-coloniality recognizing that
these are not in exclusive opposition. Many islands easily fall into both
categories and these will create points of connection between the two
volumes. The collection will bring together island texts in English or in
Engish translation that will explore the particularity of islands as
minority or peripheral cultures in relation to such topics as islands and
difference, islands and travel, islands as utopias/ dystopias/eden
arcadias, islands as nations, islands as metatexts, islands as stepping
stones, islands as cultural crossroads, the metaphoricity and
translatability of islands, the desire for islands, the languages of
islands, islands and displacement, solitude, isolation, exile, and the
insularity of islands.
Contributions may be in any language with a translation in English or
submitted in the original only and then assigned to a translator. As a
project of translation, the anthology will probe the motility that links
the
metaphoricity of floating or flying islands with the praxis of translation.
Queries and proposals by September 22.
Stephanos Stephanides
Associate Professor
University of Cyprus
PO BOX 20537
Nicosia 1678
Cyprus
e-mail: steve@ucy.ac.cy
fax: 00 357 2 751320
tel: 00 357 2 892385
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