L≠A≠N≠G≠U≠A≠G≠E: Puns and Translation in Translingual Poetry1

This Forum, appearing in each issue of the Journal of Literary Multilingualism , aims to continue the conversation started in the very first issue, where we collected articles which assessed and debated the field of Literary Multilingualism Studies. The Forum is a space for shorter, more informal reflections on the field and its future: position papers, dialogues between scholars, roundtable discussions, responses to articles within the journal, and responses to recent multilingualism conferences or events. We welcome proposals for contributions, particularly from marginalized perspectives or on neglected aspects of literary multilingualism. Please contact us directly to discuss ideas. For this Forum, we asked Eugene Ostashevsky to elaborate on his notion of translingual poetry. His essay follows the idea that translingualism in poetry is, firstly, a use of language that defies translation, or rather: the notion that everything can be said in every language. Secondly, Ostashevsky claims that such poetry makes use of linguistic strategies which have been described as characteristic of bilinguals who tend to speak with another language being present as a potential source of cross-linguistic interference in their language of use. This, thirdly, leads to the conclusion that translingual poetry is, in fact, always close to punning (or, more precisely, to paronomasia), thus making it a prime example of poetic language use in the sense of Russian formalism. — Juliette Taylor-Batty and Till Dembeck, Forum Moderators