The Latin American literary polysystem, 1930-1970: Faulkner in translatio

The transformation of the Latin American literary polysystem into an independent system of international stature is documented through this exhaustive study of Faulkner's critical reception and the translation policy applied to his works in Latin America for five decades, creating a context into which future studies of Latin American literature, particularly the "Boom" literature, may be placed.;Objectives of the study are to replace the concept of influence as a theoretical construct in examining Faulkner's role in contemporary Latin American literature; to determine what position Faulkner occupied in the Latin American canon, to chart the assimilation of Faulknerian narrative innovations into the Latin American literary repertory and to document the evolution of contemporary Latin American literature into an independent polysystem.;The study begins with a critique of the concept of influence and its application in Irby's study of Faulkner's influence in Latin American literature. The advantages of a polysystem orientation with its emphasis on the functioning of intercultural exchange observable through the analysis of intermediaries (translation, reviews) and its emphasis on interactions of systems rather than individual authors are described.;Critical reception of Faulkner in Latin America from 1930-1981 is compared to US critical reception in the same period, defining the "Latin American Faulkner" and his position in the Latin American canon. Critical understanding of Faulkner falls into distinct periods that correlate with periods of translation policy and with the gradual internationalization of Latin American literature.;Assimilation of Faulkner's narrative innovations are analysed comparatively in Latin American, Spanish, Brazilian and Portuguese translations of Faulkner's works from 1934 to 1980. Translation policy proves predictable in specific periods, periods defining the evolution of the Latin American literary polysystem into an independent entity. The translations reveal Faulkner's narrative contributions to the Latin American repertory, contributions that may be studied in the "Boom" literature.