A new article by Dr. Aria Fani appeared in the Iranian Studies journal's recent issue. The article is titled "The Allure of Untranslatability: Shafi'i-Kadkani and (Not) Translating Persian Poetry."
In the article, Prof. Fani argues that it is important to celebrate translation as a vital means of bridging cultural boundaries and literary traditions, particularly in our world of walls and borders today. However, it is equally vital to think critically and methodically about translation and not be allured by tired concepts like untranslatability.
The idea of untranslatability is linked to the very same nation-state oriented discourses centered on the problematic notion of cultural singularity that we wish to dismantle through celebrating translation. This is the angle through which this article examines translation, putting Iranian Studies in dialogue with Translation Studies and Comparative Literature.