Translating the Garden

Book excerpt: "In Translating the Garden, Ghanoonparvar offers readers an "over the shoulder" view of himself in the actual process of translating Shahrokh Meskub's Goftogu dar Bagh (Dialogue in the Garden) from Persian into English. This short philosophical work uses a conversation between a writer and a painter to delve into the Persian psyche and explore Persian perceptions of art, literature, nature, identity, spirituality, and the world in general. As he translates the text, Ghanoonparvar illustrates and discusses the myriad decisions that a literary translator faces, from word choices to the problems of conveying cultural concepts and deciphering authorial intent. He also compares some of his translated passages with those of other translators to highlight the uniqueness of each act of translation. The complete English translation of Dialogue in the Garden rounds out the volume."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved