Samuel Beckett: Literatura y Traduccion / Litterature et Traduction /Literature and Translation

Samuel Beckett’s importance for Universal literature is unquestionable. He has reached the level of cultural icon whose international recognition was established with Waiting for Godot (1953). Beckett translated into French most of the works he wrote in English, making bilingualism a most relevant feature of his creative genius. As a result of this practice, by the end of his life Beckett had created a complex canon in which, from the end of World War II onwards, a consistent difference between original and translation becomes more difficult. Beckett was conscious of the enormous importance bilingualism and self-translation had in his literary production. Despite the international recognition provided by the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature, his works remain somewhat unknown, particularly in Spain. The aim of this book is to analyse Beckett’s presence in the Spanish cultural life during the last sixty years with special attention to the Spanish renditions of his works. Although almost all his novels, dramatic works, prose and poetic texts have been translated into Spanish, the quality of those versions greatly varies. Apart from that, many of Beckett’s emblematic texts are now out of print and others are found in very limited editions. The book intends to stimulate debate about the reception of Beckett’s works into Spanish and other languages, such as Arabic and Japanese, so that the conclusions of the studies presented here may contribute to future research and reception of his works.