Bibliomigrancy from periphery to semi-periphery
Abstract
Within the study of world literature and the sociology of translation, and with a Bourdieusian backdrop, this article deals with literary translation flows from the Hispanophone Caribbean to Sweden. The overall aim of the article is to explore the bibliomigrancy of this translation flow, i.e., how and by which means Hispanophone Caribbean literature travels in “the world republic of letters” to reach Swedish readers. Another aim is to test the validity of the double consecration hypothesis for this literature, stating that Hispanophone Caribbean literature needs to be consecrated twice in the global translation field in order to be selected for translation into Swedish, firstly within the centres of the former colonial power, Madrid and Barcelona, and secondly within the British and American consecration centres of London and New York. Other aims are to examine if there are any niche Swedish publishing houses for Hispanophone translated literature, the position in the publishing field of the houses publishing this literature, and who the translators are. The material studied consists of 25 novels written by 15 authors, who are currently living in or have emigrated from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, translated into Swedish during the period 1990–2015.