Translation as influence: A dialogue between Maurice Blanchot’s literary theory and Lydia Davis’ short fiction

Abstract

The intention of this article is to analyse the intertextual influence between the American writer Lydia Davis and the French philosopher and critic Maurice Blanchot. This literary dialogue occurs as a result of Davis’ experience translating Blanchot’s most relevant critical and fictional texts. Davis’ role as a translator influenced her short fiction in which she discusses the limits of the literary space and therefore constantly challenges the genre as a way of fictionalizing Blanchot’s literary theory.