Translation problems in E.E. Cummings' experimental poetry: visual appearance, plays on words and punctuation marks

摘要

The purpose of this article is to offer a description and evaluation of the Spanish translations of Cummings' poetry, paying special attention to the differences between them and the original poems. The first part consists of a brief account of the five translations into Spanish by José Casas, Alfonso Canales, Octavio Paz, Ulalume González de León and Juan Cueto-Roig. The second part focuses on three representative features in E. E. Cummings' experimental poetry visual appearance, plays on words and punctuation marks- and the different solutions proposed by the translators for these features. It is my contention that the principal problem a translator may find when translating Cummings is whether to keep these "eccentric features" or to translate the message leaving them aside. Throughout the whole article, problems and advantages of the two options will be considered as a way to propose new translations and approaches to the American author.