Testo a fronte

Founded in 1989, «Testo a fronte» has always pursued the promotion and application of the principles of translation theory in Italy, while at the same time synthesizing a unified concept of poetry and translation.
Our conviction is that literary translation – and poetry translation in particular – is not only a formal exercise, but an existential experience aimed at reliving the creative act that inspired the original. This does not mean ignoring the immense scientific heritage that decades of research in the formalist, structuralist and semiotic fields are able to provide us with. But in our view, reflecting on translation issues from the perspective of aesthetic philosophy is also fundamental.
Today, «Testo a fronte» continues to be in the forefront of the debate concerning these two areas, in the conviction that there can be no theory without historical experience – that is to say, accepting the axioms of theoretical linguistics in a dialectical relationship with the general theories of literature and philosophical hermeneutics. Another essential aspect concerns the recognition of artistic dignity for the translated text, which requires taking into account the reception of the translated text – that is, the cultural impact that a translation, as an autonomous text, has on its audience.
Moreover, «Testo a fronte» intends to reflect on translation not only from a literary point of view, but also from an intersemiotic and transmedia perspective, examining the ways in which contents are transferred across different media, together with the transmedial declination of narrative, poetic and essayistic genres and modes.
In addition to a series of essays, each issue contains a collection of translations consisting of published and unpublished texts by poets and writers presented alongside their translations. The section of reviews at the end of the volume provides an overview of the most recent publications in the field of translation studies.