No Place for Translations in national Literary Historiography? On the Occasion of few new Publications on their Past and Present

The review of four recent publications on the history and methodology of literary translation underlines the importance of translations for the target literatures: they introduce new styles of writing, influence the genre system, and compete with 'indigenous' works for readership. The progress of studies in translation history raises the question of the role of translations in literary histories particularly as literary historians orientate themselves towards transnational and translingual perspectives. The inclusion of translation, therefore, as the most important link between 'national' literatures appears as a logical and even necessary step. This article discusses various concepts for the future of transcultural literary history.