Maximum visibility

Abstract

Although the phenomenon Venuti (1995) calls the translator’s invisibility reveals much about the global literary polysystem, the opposite also occurs, yet this perspective is much neglected. This paper presents three cases from Brazil that reveal different facets of this curious market dynamic: (1) an Agatha Christie novel in which the translator, Clarice Lispector, figures as prominently as the author in the paratext; (2) a high-profile Brazilian Portuguese version of Tolkien’s Beowulf, i.e., a market-motivated revivification of indirect translation; and, (3) Tradutores, a series by the publishing house Hedra that showcases translations by renowned Lusophone writers. This survey demonstrates the complex web of factors involved in foregrounding the translator in Brazil, which may also be at play in other national and international systems.

Keywords

• Literary translation
• Translator’s visibility
• Translation in Brazil