This talk centres on Tim Mackintosh-Smith’s ongoing work editing and translating the Arabic autobiography of the historian, statesman and judge Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406). Although he is one of the most important figures in the whole of Arab- Islamic culture, only two translations of the autobiography exist, both into French, and both so partial as to be emasculated. They simply omit the difficult bits, on the grounds that they are impossible to translate. Admittedly, there is some hard poetry, and some of the strangest and cleverest prose ever written in any language. But…leave it out? Tim Mackintosh-Smith argues that the translator must rise to the challenge of difficulty. What hope is there for intercultural understanding if we do not even try to understand each other’s words? The talk focuses in detail on Ibn Khaldun’s little-known poetry, and on the magnificently wrought rhymed and rhythmical prose of his friend and correspondent, Ibn al-Khatib of Granada.

This talk is presented as part of the annual Hikayat Lecture on Literary Translation series, which contributes to the ongoing conversation on the principles and practices of literary translation in our times.