From the Derived to the Deviant: A Translation-Based Creative Writing Pedagogy

ABSTRACT

Whether creativity can be taught or not has remained an unresolved and recurring topic of debate in creative writing. Writing that is creative and imaginative is distinguished from translation, which is more derivative. However, both activities are creative in their own unique ways. With the intent of fostering creativity in creative writing, I wish to explore the following questions in this paper: Where does translation’s creativity come from? Can creativity be facilitated by the opposing forces of derivation and deviation in translation? If so, how exactly? How can a creative pedagogy be based on such disparate elements? In this essay, I argue that the contradictory characteristic of translation being both derivative and derived is consistent with a certain aspect of creativity, making it useful for creative writing. Then, I will propose a translation-based creative pedagogy while examining works from my poetry project that incorporate the practice of translation.

KEYWORDS:

• Poetry writing
• poetry translation
• creativity
• pedagogy
• deviance
• self-expression
• dialogics

Acknowledgements

The author would like to express her gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable feedback, which helped refine and strengthen the content of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Yangzhou’s Outstanding Doctoral Programme: Lv Yang Jinfeng Initiative [YZLYJF2020PHD052].

Notes on contributors

Xia Fang

Xia Fang is a bilingual poet and translator. She has published several collections of translated poems and her own creative and critical works have appeared in Postcolonial Text, Mascara, Mānoa, and New Writing. Some of her research interests include literary translation, intercultural/bilingual writing, and creative writing research. Xia obtained her Ph.D. from University of Macau in 2019. She is currently a Lecturer at the College of International Studies, Yangzhou University