Lost and Found: (Non-)translation and Transmission of Affect in Multilingual Poetry Performance
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: While reading an untranslated poem in a language you do not understand may not elicit an emotional response or feeling of connection to the writer, poetry performances open up possibilities for creating social and affective bonds across linguistic differences. Exploring these dynamics, this article asks: what is lost and what is gained in poetry performances in which poets and audience members do not speak the same languages? To address this question, I draw on ethnographic research in Brussels, including participant observation at multilingual poetry performances and collective writing workshops, as well as interviews with poets from diverse linguistic backgrounds. While performers and event organizers employ a range of translation strategies, non-translation is also frequently articulated as an artistic and political choice that highlights the epistemic, affective, and relational value both of not understanding and of seeking understanding beyond words. With a conceptual focus on affect and its links to language, bodies, and understanding, the article explores three interrelated aspects of multilingual poetry performance – language and translation choices, performance strategies, and the role of the audience – to show how performers and audiences co-create meaning and establish relationships across linguistic differences
Source: Open Library of Humanities
DOI: 10.16995/olh.28222
Author: Sonja Faaren Ruud
Language: Spanish
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7204172647