A short history of Palestinian literature in French translation

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Date
2011-10-12
Authors
Dr. Richard Jacquemond
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<p>Within the larger movement of translation into French of modern Arabic literature, Palestinian literature occupies a particular place, one that has obviously more to do with political rather than literary reasons. If it can be argued that the general movement of Arabic translation into French - as well as other - languages has been influenced, whether positively or (more often) negatively, by the political relationship between France and the modern Arab world, this has been especially the case with the Palestinian literary output. This paper will follow the history of its translation in France, starting with the first translations of Mahmoud Darwish and Ghassan Kanafani in the early 1970s, to Emile Habibi and Sahar Khalifa’s major works and finally the most recent publications by novelists of the younger generation such as Adania Shibli and Akram Musallam. It will analyse and question the publishers’ strategies, the translators’ choices as well as the broader politics of the reception of Palestinian literature in connection with the perception of the Palestine question in France.</p>
<p>Within the larger movement of translation into French of modern Arabic literature, Palestinian literature occupies a particular place, one that has obviously more to do with political rather than literary reasons. If it can be argued that the general movement of Arabic translation into French - as well as other - languages has been influenced, whether positively or (more often) negatively, by the political relationship between France and the modern Arab world, this has been especially the case with the Palestinian literary output. This paper will follow the history of its translation in France, starting with the first translations of Mahmoud Darwish and Ghassan Kanafani in the early 1970s, to Emile Habibi and Sahar Khalifa’s major works and finally the most recent publications by novelists of the younger generation such as Adania Shibli and Akram Musallam. It will analyse and question the publishers’ strategies, the translators’ choices as well as the broader politics of the reception of Palestinian literature in connection with the perception of the Palestine question in France.</p>
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