THE PROS AND CONS OF SIGURDUR A. MAGNÚSSON'S TRANSLATIONS OF POSTWAR ICELANDIC POETRY INTRODUCTION: THE BACKGROUND OF THE CONTROVERSY AND ITS LARGER IMPLICATIONS

is very hard to translate, we all know that, often harder to translate than it is to write. Successful translators must be people of many talents. Sometimes, indeed, what they require more than anything else is a thick skin. For they are subject to criticism on numerous grounds: their knowledge of the original language, their knowledge of the translation language, their aesthetic principles, their taste, their judgment, and so on ad infinitum. Few translations of poetry are perfectsome would argue that this is a contradiction in termsand it is possible for men and women of good will to reach quite disparate conclusions about the ' 'success" or 4 'failure" of a given piece of translation. An interesting test case is the recently published book, The Postwar Poetry of Iceland, translated with introduction by Sigurdur A. Magnusson (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1982). This volume is one in the Iowa Translation Series, the purpose of which is described as follows in the publisher's promotional brochure: