Collaborative self-translation: Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, Dmitri Vladimirovich Nabokov and Italian Language

There is a large body of critical literature on Vladimir Nabokov’s translations and self-translations, mostly published in the Anglophone context. Yet, at closer look, very little still has been said about his translations published in Italy. In this regard, Nabokov owes much to his collaboration with his son Dmitri, who, in many cases, was the author of the first translation drafts which he later reworked. The present paper will focus on the act of “collaborative self-translation” that saw Nabokov father and son work together. We then proceed analysing Dmitri Nabokov’s translations and self-translations into Italian, which are in turn based on forms of (disguised) collaborative-translation. Such an investigation makes it possible to discuss, from a theoretical point of view, the phenomenon of self-translation under a new light, introducing the notion of “unreliable self-translator”.