How to reference this article Biernacka-Licznar, K. (2017). Zofia Ernst (1918–1994): l’arte di vivere, l’arte di tradurre. Italica Wra- tislaviensia, 8 (2), 11–36. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15804/IW.2017.08.15 Katarzyna Biernacka-Licznar Uniwersytet Wrocławski
[email protected] ZOFIA ERNST (1918–1994): L’ARTE DI VIVERE, L’ARTE DI TRADURRE ZOFIA ERNST (1918–1994): THE ART OF LIFE AND THE ART OF TRANSLATION Abstract: The aim in this article is to present the life and work of Zofia Ernst (1918–1994), an ardent connoisseur of Italian culture and literature and an accomplished translator of Italian books for adults and children. Drawing on D’hulst’s historiographic model (2001, 2010) and Kaczmarek’s topobiographical approach (2013), I address key moments in Ernst’s life. The focus on the life story of this one translator helps me outline the milieu in which she lived and worked as well as show her impact on how the representations of Italian literature took shape in Poland before 1994. I also explore translations of Italian literature for children and young adults that Zofia Ernst produced for the Polish publisher Nasza Księgarnia during the period of 1954–1974, as they still form an under-examined field. Keywords: Zofia Ernst, children’s literature, translation histories, topobiography, Nasza Księgarnia Published: 15/11/2017 ISSN 2084-4514 e-ISSN 2450-5943 12 Katarzyna Biernacka-Licznar “Delle belle arti soltanto la letteratura necessita del traduttore senza il quale l’autore rimane chiuso nei confini del proprio Paese”1. Zofia Ernst l traduttore, e in particolar modo la traduttrice, è un fenomeno, con “Ipoche eccezioni, sociale, di classe e non letterario”.