Fusion and "contra fusion" : On translating ekphrastic poetry in Edward Hopper, Ernest Farrés, and Lawrence Venuti
Shyrokova Manno, Alla (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	This article investigates Lawrence Venuti's English translation of Edward Hopper, a Catalan poetry collection by Ernest Farrés inspired by the American painter's work. It develops the concept of "contra fusion" to describe a mode of translation that foregrounds interpretive agency, cultural specificity, and polyphonic authorship. Drawing on key theories of poetry translation and ekphrasis, the article situates Venuti's method within a broader hermeneutic tradition, emphasizing the translator's creative role in navigating both interlingual and intersemiotic dimensions. Through close readings, it explores how the translation maintains the stylistic and cultural complexity of the Catalan original while incorporating elements of Hopper's voice and American vernacular. Special attention is given to compound structures, idiomatic shifts, and cultural recoding. The article argues that Edward Hopper functions as a collaborative, transmedial project - where painter, poet, and translator converge in a dynamic interplay of languages, traditions, and aesthetic forms. In doing so, it demonstrates how translation can operate not merely as transfer, but as co-creation and cultural intervention.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2024-156306NB-C21
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Poetry translation ; Ekphrasis ; Contra fusion ; Lawrence Venuti ; Catalan literature ; Intermediality
Published in:	Babel, Vol. 72, Num. 3 (March 2026) , p. 340-363, ISSN 1569-9668

DOI: 10.1075/babel.25210.shy

24 p, 291.7 KB

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