METM12 plenary talk

Travelling, Writing, Translating

Loredana Polezzi, University of Warwick

Travel literature and translation are two forms of writing which cross boundaries between languages and cultures -“ but what happens when travel narratives are translated? Concentrating on journeys which either took place or had their origins in the Mediterranean world, I will trace the itinerary of a number of texts which have travelled and continue to travel through various forms of translation, from Marco Polo's Il Milione to contemporary migrant literature. Each of those stories is distinct and individual, yet together they begin to tell us how the history of travel writing and that of translation intersect.

Loredana Polezzi is Associate Professor in Italian Studies at the University of Warwick (UK) and Academic Director of the Warwick Venice Centre. Her main research interests are in translation studies and the history of travel writing. Her recent work focuses on how geographical and social mobility are connected to the theories and practices of translation and self-translation. She is currently completing a monograph on images of Africa produced by Italian travellers and co-editing special issues of the journals Studies in Travel Writing and Textus.