Abstract
This article focuses on the English translation of No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison. I investigate the Boochani-Tofighian collaboration and argue that Omid Tofighian is not only a translator but also a collaborator in the English version of Boochani’s text. I consider Tofighian’s contribution an integral and indispensable part of No Friend but the Mountains and the Manus Prison Theory. In this article, I explore the collaborative aspects of the translation and the translation challenges through a focus on the frame narrative, which consists of both the “Translator’s Note” and the supplementary essay that has the final “Translator’s Reflections.” I read this paratext in light of the other scholarly work of Tofighian. My article shows that Tofighian’s intervention is the result of (1) untranslatability and (2) his responsibility as he transmits the message of an incarcerated Kurdish refugee to the Australian public.
Recommended Citation
Kebsi, Jyhene
(2022)
"The Challenges of Translating World Prison Literature: Investigating Omid Tofighian’s Contribution to No Friend but the Mountains,"
Antipodes: Vol. 36:
Iss.
2, Article 10.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/antipodes/vol36/iss2/10