Parmenides & Translation

How has translation, understood in an expansive sense that includes reception, interpretation, and editing, transformed an orally performed poem from the Greek Archaic period into a foundational text of philosophy? In what ways might translation open new interpretive possibilities? Through activating translation in multiple ways, ranging from translation as thinking, transfictional readings of canonical texts, and a provocative new translation, author D. M. Spitzer explores these questions, seeking to develop and inspire new approaches to the poem of Parmenides and beyond. With a style that continually reminds readers of the inalienable links between literature and philosophy, the book enhances the emerging research area on the intersections of translation and philosophy.

Insightful, disconcerting, unexpected and urgent. Spitzer tears down the walls between philosophy, literature and translation; between poetic, philosophical and translated language. His poetic prose takes us through Parmenides – including an audacious new translation – to arrive at the much-needed notion of transphilosophy – without which the reader can no longer imagine philosophy or translation.
– Alice Leal, Associate Professor, Department of Translating and Interpreting Studies, University of the Witwatersrand

An innovative and extensively researched work, this important monograph offers compelling reasons to see and hear Parmenides anew. Providing insight and evidence for how translation affects reception, D.M. Spitzer weaves a delicate balance between the stasis of doctrinal interpretation and the ek-stasis of fragments rich with musicality and possibility.
– Lisa Wilkinson, Professor of Philosophy, Nebraska Wesleyan University