Translating Polish Reportage: Challenges and Strategies

Poland has a strong tradition of long-form, literary journalism, known as “reportage.” Pioneered by Ryszard Kapuściński (1932-2007), it has grown into one of the most dynamic and popular literary genres in Poland. Translating the genre into English presents a number of challenges, including accommodating different literary and journalistic standards, different conceptions of genre and the need for extensive research on the part of the translator. Sean Gasper Bye will present some of the challenges he’s faced in bringing Polish reportage into English and offer strategies for translators working with literary journalistic texts.