Translation theory for literary translators sounds like a dry subject. Indeed, many eyes glazed over when I mentioned my excitement about writing this book. However, I find that time spent discussing theoretical approaches to literary translation is both fascinating and fruitful and I hope to convince you of this too.

Part of the impetus for this book was that I often had students, whether at BA or MA level, who were curious about translation and were even considering being translators but who were scared of theory or uninterested in theoretical ideas. To them, being a translator just meant knowing their source and target languages well and having excellent writing and editing skills. They felt that theory was complicated and disconnected from their work as translators. They would dutifully read the texts I assigned, but sometimes found them challenging or said they thought theory was irrelevant. The academy was not the real world, they said, and they did not see why they should read work by people who had not necessarily worked as translators themselves. Of course, it is true that a university campus is not exactly the real world, but it is part of it, and personally, I disagreed with them about theory not having any practical value or application. As a translator myself, I do not consciously think of theory as I translate but the ideas are always present and I ponder them as I analyse texts. I love to read other people's discussions about what translation is, what it can do and how it might work, and I am inspired by this as I translate. As a teacher, I wanted to encourage my students to have a broad range of tools and concepts in their translatorial toolbox, and I think theory is an obvious and important tool.

But it is important to note that I do not believe theoretical ideas are simply applied while someone translates. Sure, it might happen that someone gets stuck on a thorny translatorial problem and remembers a strategy that they read about. More often, however, theoretical concepts stimulate thoughts and offer options and approaches. In my 20-plus years as a translator, I have not often thought, ‘I read theory A that said I should do this, so I’ll do it as I translate’.