Different translations and various types of Cavafy in Hungarian language and literature

Csapó, Csaba (2011) Different translations and various types of Cavafy in Hungarian language and literature. Hungarian Studies, 25 (1). pp. 103-118. ISSN 0236-6568

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Abstract

The publication of a new edition of the poetry of Constantine Petros Cavafy in Hungarian translation in 2006 added a degree of nuance to the prevailing literary translational techniques in Hungary because Balázs Déri’s translations of the poems not included in the 1968 edition made a departure towards domestication from the commonly used reconstructional method. This caused different understandings of Cavafy’s poetry as well as various images of the poet in Hungarian culture. Furthermore, in the same year, the publication of András Ferenc Kovács’s Cavafy transcriptions, that is, his pseudo-translations, further influenced our understanding of the Alexandrian poet. In this article, after offering a brief overview of various methods of translation prominent in 20th century Hungarian culture, I aim at pointing out that the first edition of Cavafy’s poems in Hungarian used the typical model of reconstruction, whereas Déri’s new, 2006 translation is a move away towards domestication. Having analyzed four poems in the original Greek and their Hungarian translation, I would like to point to the necessity of diversity in literary translation; having different types of Cavafy also means understanding contemporary Hungarian poetry from multiple angles.

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