Within new worlds: Some of the difficulties and challenges of translating two of Pierre Nepveu's literary essays

This project provides a translation of two of Pierre Nepveu's essays taken from his book Interieurs du nouveau monde published in 1998. The translation is followed by a commentary that outlines some of the difficulties and challenges that his work presented in the translation process. The work involved in translating these essays not only required effort at the level of the text itself, but also meant delving into the literary corpus on which the author based his ideas. The readings and research involved prior and during translation affects the syntax, word choice, and overall voice of the text in the receiving language. Translation involves much more than a simple transfer process and requires relying on a wealth of background work that engages the translator as a reader and as a writer. Pierre Nepveu's essays are filled with literary references and information that proves to be interesting and multifaceted reading.