What does this research mean for the field?

Translating multimodal poetry is a highly creative and interpretive activity that requires the translator to actively recognize and recreate the transdisciplinary voices of artists from other media embedded in the source text. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The essay aims to explore the creative and interpretive activities involved in translating multimodal poetry by Víctor Cabrera.

May 28, 2026

Translating a collage of voices in multimodal poetry

Key Points

The essay aims to explore the creative and interpretive activities involved in translating multimodal poetry by Víctor Cabrera.
Analyzes translation of 'A Garden Razed to Ashes' in dialogue with Thelonious Monk's music.
Examines 'WIDE SCREEN' in connection with Jim Jarmusch's films.
Discusses theories of intertextuality, intratextuality, pastiche, and palimpsest.
Illustrates how translators can capture the complexity of incorporating voices from other media.
Raises questions about the recognition of artistic dialogues within translations.
Demonstrates the creative process that translators engage in to interpret multimodal elements.

Abstract

In this essay, I discuss my experiences translating poetry by Víctor Cabrera – an author originally from the Chiapas State of Mexico. Cabrera’s work engages with a variety of art forms, including film and music. In the case studies discussed in this essay, I focus on my process for translating A Garden Razed to Ashes Un jardín arrasado de cenizas (2014), a work in dialogue with the music of American jazz composer Thelonious Monk, and WIDE SCREEN (2009), a work in dialogue with the films of American arthouse director Jim Jarmusch. In this essay, I discuss my translations in relation to theories of intertextuality, intratextuality, pastiche, and palimpsest. These translation projects raise interesting questions regarding how a translator might recognize the ways in which a literary author incorporates the voices of artists in other media and how these elements can be re-created in a translation to highlight the complexity and transdisciplinarity of the source author. My principal aim in writing this reflection is to illustrate the creative and interpretive activity carried out by translators.

Mark Helpful

Bookmark

Relay