Jacek Dehnel – the translator

Abstract

This article attempts to present Jacek Dehnel as a translator. For this purpose, the author refers to selected works discussing Jacek Dehnel as a writer, poet, translator, and artist. In addition, the author uses Jacek Dehnel's statements on translation made in interviews and his critical comments on poetry and prose translations. The author assumes that a discussion on Jacek Dehnel's (or any other translator's) professional activity solely from the perspective of the texts of their translations would be insufficient. In the article, the author suggests that Jacek Dehnel pays particular attention to non-standard varieties of language in his prose, which in turn may influence his translation decisions. The article notes that when it appears impossible to convey the character of the original language in its entirety, Dehnel has been a proponent of departing from the form of the source text to save its exact meaning - also in poetry translation. The article concludes that Jacek Dehnel is familiar with many views on literary translation, he is interested in its theory, willingly participates in discussions in this field, and reviews other translations. Dehnel treats literature as the best source of knowledge about writing and translation. Despite his unquestionable literary, poetic, and translation achievements, Dehnel does not deny that he is still learning how to write and translate from others. The article is also an invitation to further discussion and critical analysis of Jacek Dehnel's translations.