Fidelity

A timely and impassioned essay on translation, fidelity and the cultural politics of world literature. Drawing on her experience of translating Han Kang's Prize-winning The Vegetarian, and the anxieties around imperialism and authorship that its reception provoked, Deborah Smith weaves together an array of stories and approaches to translation as she seeks to unlock its artistic and radical potential. What emerges is a portrait of translation not as a technical activity, but as urgent, engaged and truly creative - a practice whose methods are as varied as those of any art form.