Translation and the Cold War: Tracing the Emergence of the Star Translator

BCLT Research Seminar – Brian James Baer This research seminar took place on Wednesday 29 October 2025 This paper examines the controversy surrounding the first English translation of Cuban writer José Lezama Lima’s novel Paradiso, comparing the public treatment of the controversy with the view from the publishers’ archive. The (c)overt record highlights the complicated (gender) politics of translation in the Cold War and the emergence of star translators, such as Gregory Rabassa. By tracing the complex power dynamics among the various agents of translation involved, the paper offers a unique perspective on the tangled web of personal and professional loyalties characterizing translation in the context of the cultural Cold War.