Dorijan Hajdu (University of Belgrade), member of COST Action MultiLiLiTrans WG4, delivered a lecture on 9 April at the Hungarian Academy of Arts’ Art Theory and Methodology Research Institute in Budapest.

The lecture, titled “Literature as Multilingual by Nature: Translation as a Constitutive Force,” was organised within an ongoing collaboration with HAA RIATM, University Bielefeld, and contributed to COST WG4 activities, including participation in an online translators’ discussion group and the development of a multilingual literary and artistic anthology.

The lecture introduced a multidisciplinary theoretical framework for the analysis of (multilingual) literary texts, with a focus on contemporary prose and poetry by various authors (e.g. J. H. Khemiri, Th. Tranströmer, László Nagy) and their translatability.

Special attention was given to two case studies from Nagy’s poetry, demonstrating how translation strategies vary depending on historical context, translators’ language competencies, and evolving understandings of the translator’s role. The session was interactive, with active audience participation and discussion.

The lecture fostered engagement with scholars across the globe (New York, Toronto, Helsinki, Bielefeld, Budapest, Budapest, Istanbul etc.) and strengthened interdisciplinary dialogue on multilingualism and translation practices.