FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK: Om städer och språk i litteratur och översättning

Abstract

This essay examines literary translations of the city: on the one hand, the translation of city into literature, and on the other hand, the translation of that literature into another language. It focuses on English-language fiction set in New York City, and its translation into Swedish, particularly through two personal experiences: translating Ben Lerner’s novel 10:04 (2014) and Hannah Sullivan’s poetry collection Three Poems (2018). It has an interdisciplinary perspective, with theoretical framework from the fields of Comparative literature, Translation theory, Philosophy, Architecture, among others. The essay discusses how cities and language are dependent on and influence each other, and which form this can take in a (translated) literary work. It examines how the contemporary, internationalized culture of big cities creates linguistic and urban uniformity, reducing the need to translate specific cultural references in literature set in such city environments. Furthermore, the essay examines the translation of urban phenomena in a wider sense, for example how the American skyscraper is adapted to a Swedish context, how New York City becomes a symbol of the idea of the city, and a model in Swedish urban planning, particularly focusing on current developments in Malmö. The essay also examines literary translations of the city on a grammatical level, comparing how English and Swedish create movement and rapidity, and their ability to portray the ongoing nature of city life.