"Un joc fecund și seducător de rezonanțe”: Ștefan Aug. Doinaș and translation as a living dialogue between cultures

Abstract

Grounded in his extensive experience as a literary translator, Ștefan Aug. Doinaș conceptualizes translation as a dynamic process of negotiation and exchange among literary values, shaped simultaneously by the universality of poetic expression, the specificity of cultural traditions, and the singularity of the authorial voice. Critical engagement with these interrelated dimensions enables a reconfiguration of persistent dichotomies – most notably those opposing the national to the universal in processes of cultural formation, and fidelity to autonomy within the translational act. This study examines the theoretical premises underlying Doinaș’s conception of literary translation and ultimately frames it as a poietic practice capable of regenerating literary traditions, situating them within the broader horizon of a shared, “universal culture”.