"If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents"

E592939

book literary criticism

"If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents" is a memoir and reflection on the art and practice of literary translation by renowned translator Gregory Rabassa, exploring his experiences translating major Latin American authors.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
"If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents" canonical	1
If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T6426140 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: "If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents"
Context triple: [Gregory Rabassa, notableWork, "If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents"]

A. The Task of the Translator
The Task of the Translator is Walter Benjamin’s influential 1923 essay that theorizes translation as a creative, transformative act revealing the “afterlife” of literary works rather than merely reproducing their meaning.
B. "Why Translation Matters"
"Why Translation Matters" is a book by renowned literary translator Edith Grossman that argues for the artistic and cultural importance of literary translation.
C. PEN Declaration on Translation Rights
The PEN Declaration on Translation Rights is an ethical charter by PEN International that outlines principles to protect and promote the rights, freedoms, and fair treatment of literary translators worldwide.
D. The Dream of a Common Language
The Dream of a Common Language is a landmark 1978 poetry collection by Adrienne Rich that explores feminist, lesbian, and political themes through formally innovative and emotionally intense verse.
E. In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics
In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics is a seminal collection of essays by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak that helped shape postcolonial theory, feminist criticism, and deconstructive literary studies.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: "If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents"
Target entity description: "If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents" is a memoir and reflection on the art and practice of literary translation by renowned translator Gregory Rabassa, exploring his experiences translating major Latin American authors.

A. The Task of the Translator
The Task of the Translator is Walter Benjamin’s influential 1923 essay that theorizes translation as a creative, transformative act revealing the “afterlife” of literary works rather than merely reproducing their meaning.
B. "Why Translation Matters"
"Why Translation Matters" is a book by renowned literary translator Edith Grossman that argues for the artistic and cultural importance of literary translation.
C. PEN Declaration on Translation Rights
The PEN Declaration on Translation Rights is an ethical charter by PEN International that outlines principles to protect and promote the rights, freedoms, and fair treatment of literary translators worldwide.
D. The Dream of a Common Language
The Dream of a Common Language is a landmark 1978 poetry collection by Adrienne Rich that explores feminist, lesbian, and political themes through formally innovative and emotionally intense verse.
E. In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics
In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics is a seminal collection of essays by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak that helped shape postcolonial theory, feminist criticism, and deconstructive literary studies.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (36)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	book ⓘ literary criticism ⓘ
about	creative aspects of translation ⓘ cultural mediation through translation ⓘ history of Rabassa’s career ⓘ relationship between translator and author ⓘ
author	Gregory Rabassa ⓘ
authorNationality	American ⓘ
authorOccupation	literary translator ⓘ
describes	Gregory Rabassa’s collaboration with authors ⓘ Gregory Rabassa’s translation methods ⓘ challenges of translating Latin American fiction ⓘ
explores	role of intuition in translation ⓘ tension between fidelity and creativity in translation ⓘ translator’s visibility in the text ⓘ
focusesOn	Rabassa’s experiences as a literary translator ⓘ translation of major Latin American authors ⓘ
genre	memoir ⓘ translation studies ⓘ
hasPart	essays on translation theory ⓘ personal anecdotes ⓘ reflections on specific translation projects ⓘ
hasTitle	If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents ⓘ linked to: "If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents"
intendedAudience	general readers interested in translation ⓘ scholars of Latin American literature ⓘ students of translation ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
literaryForm	prose ⓘ
mainSubject	Latin American literature ⓘ autobiographical reflections ⓘ literary translation ⓘ translator’s craft ⓘ
narrativePerspective	first-person ⓘ
setting	20th-century literary world ⓘ
workExampleOf	autobiographical writing by a translator ⓘ reflection on translation practice ⓘ