Literary translation in Mexican cultural periodicals: from modernismo to the avant-garde (1898-1931)

Thesis

This thesis explores the significance of translation and periodicals in the development of modern Mexican poetry during the early twentieth century. Drawing on Translation Studies, the sociology of literature, Periodical Studies, and Digital Humanities, I examine a selection of cultural periodicals and serialised publications, namely the Revista Moderna (1898–1903), Pegaso (1917), El Maestro (1921–1923), Cvltvra (1916–1923), El Universal Ilustrado (1917–1928), Prisma (1922), La Falange (1922–1923), and Contemporáneos (1928–1931). My analysis combines close-reading and exploratory data analysis and demonstrates that the functions of translated materials varied according to the changing circumstances of a literature that was becoming modern whilst facing the impact of radical political, institutional, and social transformations. As I argue, translation was employed by modernista poets to experiment with unusual and irregular verse forms, ultimately contributing to the development of free verse in Spanish. In the revolutionary years, it was used to defend the autonomy of literature and assert its value in post-revolutionary society. Finally, it allowed poets of the 1920s to challenge the elevated tone, language, and concept of poetry prevalent throughout most of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, crafting a modern poetics that heralded the pervasiveness of colloquialism in twentieth-century Spanish American poetry. I therefore argue that magazines and translation were key for the development of modern poetry in Mexico, both on the level of poetics and in terms of the articulation of cultural life. By focusing on this often-overlooked intersection of translation and/in periodicals, I seek to offer a fresh look at literary history. Considering the transnational and translational dimensions of literature reveals deep connections between authors, periods, and movements that have hitherto been read in isolation. My thesis invites readers to rethink our understanding of literary change based on these shifting, loosely connected, yet mutually nurturing networks of authors, translators, and magazine editors.

Authors: Popea, M

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-no0bgr1je
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: metadata; literary translation; Mexican periodicals; modernismo; literary change; avant-garde; literary periodicals
• Subjects: Translating and interpreting; Mexican literature; Mexican literature--history and criticism--periodicals; Periodicals; Avant-garde (aesthetics)--Latin America