Preface 5

PREFACE

This new and revived volume of Delos is appearing after a hiatus of 
thirteen years. As of April 2015 the Harold P. Hanson Estate has turned 
over the editorship to me. I am no stranger to this enterprise, having 
been a guest-editor for volume 19-20 in 1997. 

Delos was founded as part of a generous grant by the Ford 
Foundation to the University of Texas in Austin in 1965. But only three 
issues -- albeit rich and divers in content -- appeared there in 1968-69. 
Next, Delos (re)appeared with eleven issues as a publication of The 
Center for World Literature at the University of Maryland, edited by 
Reed Whittemore in 1988-91. And from 1991 through 2003 under the 
editorship of Harold P. Hanson another eleven issues were published 
at the University of Florida.

Because literary translation from any language into English is a 
vast field, a theme of Literature and Music was chosen for this year’s 
issue of Delos. The theme for 2017 is Literature and Image.

In terms of editorial policy, Delos solicits and welcomes translations 
from any language/literature into English – for practical reasons “any” 
languages and literatures meaning those taught and researched at 
major universities in the United States and Canada. At this point the 
selection for this year may seem somewhat arbitrary; I look forward to 
more diverse submissions and thus a published selection from other 
European as well as Asian and African languages and literatures in the 
future. Shorter pieces – five to fifteen pages in length – are preferred.

One of the more interesting and puzzling aspects in the areas 
of foreign languages and literature teaching/research and literary 
translations in this country is a disconnect between the two. To 
illustrate this, let us take the illustrious record of Professor William 
Calin, Graduate Research Professor at the University of Florida, as an 
example: there is no connection between his impressive scholarship 
in literary studies (Cf. Notes on Contributors). It doesn’t list any 
item of or about translation. Conversely, the same lack of literary 
analysis exists in the work by literary translators, although, to be 
sure, professional, especially full-time translators, are much fewer in 
number in this country. No doubt, this disparity is part of the nature of 
specialization. But it is also a result of a misperception of the status 
of the English language as a lingua franca. Or, to put it another way, 
if there are fewer and fewer speakers and practitioners of other 
major languages in which state-of-the-art knowledge is published 
in this country, than translations from those languages into English, 
translation becomes increasingly more important and pressing. 



6 Delos

A preface also is an opportunity to recognize the individual 
expertise in the languages and literatures represented in Delos and 
to give thanks. Without the following members of the new Board of 
Advisors this enterprise could not exist: Cynthia Chennault, Dror 
Abend-David, Elinore Fresh, Will Kesling, Charles Perrone, Stephen 
Rojcewicz, Gregor Thuswaldner, Sidney Wade and Mary Watt. My 
thanks also go to Julia Morrisroe as the new artist-advisor and to 
Alexander Burak as the new review editor. I also thank the Harold 
P. Hanson Estate, particularly, Harold’s daughter and executor, Ms 
Barbara Hanson Herbert in the trust extended to me. For generous 
financial donations I thank the Department of Spanish and Portuguese 
Studies as well as Professor of Spanish and Associate Dean David 
Pharies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of 
Florida.

H.H.R.         
Gainesville        
February, 2016