Three of them are famous authors, the other
is an editor. They all work in the shadows to accurately recreate the voices of the foreign authors they admire.Immerse yourself in the creation of words with women who create transitions between worlds and languages.
Agnes Desart. “I liked From Disappointment to Joy”
Madame Figaro. – What is translation for you?
Agnes Desart. – Translation is a crime. an impossible activity that we carry out anyway, which is wonderful. They say that you cannot translate ideograms into letters or poetry, but even in the simplest cases it is impractical to give an equivalent in another language. A translated book is a book in the same way. what an original…
Why this job?
Genevieve Brissac, when I met her, told me that because she knew English well, I could translate. I had never thought of that. And I liked it. I liked to go from frustration and aporia to the joy of finding a solution. I liked to push doors closed…
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Why English?
My mother was an English scholar and my parents spoke English when they didn’t want people to understand them.I grew up in a polyglot environment, I think I translated from childhood. And then, translating is like writing, but without taking responsibility for what is written.
Your favorite translation?
The Puttermesser Papers, by Cynthia Ozick, whose philosophical density and poetic charge added to the filter of language changed my
method of translation. MTH:
Sophie Reffle.
David Coulon
Madame Figaro. – What is translation for you?
Sophie Reffle. – It is a passion, a constant challenge, encounters with other cultures.
Why this job?
I have always loved languages, and many different languages: Swedish, German, English… I have lived abroad a lot and started
doing small translations. I’ve translated subtitles, it’s a very specific technique, more restrictive. I’ve even translated literary manga, but with novels you find real freedom.
Why Japanese?
I like the challenge.I studied languages after my undergrad. I was bored with English. I had Japanese friends, and I found this language incredible, so nuanced. I worked and worked… But when I went to Japan, I didn’t understand anything… However, it fascinated me. it was a total revelation, and I endured.
With novels we find true freedom
Sophie Reffle
Your favorite translation?
Tarô, a true novel, by Minae Mizumura, published by Seuil. It is an extraordinary novel, the author’s meeting with the young Taro in the United States is a revelation for me. The form particularly impressed me. the author knows how to describe such special feelings in very beautiful Japanese. BB:
The roof and dreamsBy Kiyoko Murata, translated by Sophie Refle, Éditions Actes Sud, 272 p., €22.50.
Anne Plantagenet. “Writing and translation enrich each other”
David Coulon
Madame Figaro. – What is translation for you?
Anne Plantagenet. – To recreate the foreign voice as best as possible in my native language, while realizing that it will remain imperfect. We constantly ask ourselves, about every word, every sentence. it is a story of rhythm, of music, where the spirit is more important than the letter.
Why this job?
I was looking to get published as an author, and translation turned out to be an activity whose freedom suited me
I want I needed that independence. And it took time to realize that, but writing and translation complement and enrich each other. They are two sides of the same coin.
Why Spanish?
It is my native language. part of my family comes from Spain via Algeria.The culture and language of this country have always attracted me and I feel like a fish in water.
Translation for me is to reproduce a foreign sound as best as possible in my native language.
Anne Plantagenet
Your favorite translation?
My share of the night By Mariana Enriquez (Ed. du Sous-Sol), a monstrous work that transcends boundaries and mixes styles from punk to gothic.I have a weakness too own By Alia Trabucco Zerán (Ed. Laffont, Foreign Femina Prize), a solid monologue that suits my sensibilities as a writer. MTH:
On January 9, 10 and 11, the Paris Women’s Festival will present Anne Plantagenet’s play at the Theater de la Pépinière in Paris. parisdesfemmes.com
Sophie Benech. “Living between two languages, two cultures”
David Coulon
Madame Figaro. – What does translation mean to you?
Sophie Benech. – It’s like being a musician who draws his technique, his personality, his soul from the piece. You have to know how to read the score, but above all you know how to play your instrument very well, and here the instrument is French. For the translation to be alive, you you have to immerse yourself in the original text, its music, its breath…
Why this job?
I became a literary translator quite late, and without training, at the age of about 38, I found this job that allows me to immerse myself in Russian culture and literature, and I feel a little useful, serving as a bridge between the two worlds that I have : love
Why Russian?
To translate means to live between two languages, two sensibilities. Through Russian, I feel that I have been able to reveal a part of myself that cannot be expressed in my own language. To be honest, I love this country, its language, its literature. its culture…
Translating means living between two languages, two cultures, two sensibilities
Sophie Benech
Your favorite translation?
I have translated almost all of Lyudmila Ulitskaya’s books. The three who have also had a great influence on me are Varlam Chalamov, Isaac Babel and Anna Akhmatova, they are great creators and exceptional people. BB:
Sophie Benech is the founder of Éditions Interférences.
Marie Darrieussecq. “Art of Passage and Bridge”
David Coulon
Madame Figaro: What does translation mean to you?
Marie Dariesek: A bridge between two worlds and two languages. A knitting bridge because I don’t have to create a book from A to Z. the ball is already there, and I just need to French weave it, that is, through patience, turn the material into something beautiful and useful.
Why this job?
Because it is an art of passage and bridge. And it is not my work, it is my luxury. It all began with Ovid, whose letters I studied in exile. I discovered that we have either academic translations, accurate but difficult to read, or poetic translations, but only in the form of extracts. Then I translated these letters from Latin myself and POL published Tristes Pontiques.Then came English, especially with classics like A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf or soon Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
Why English?
I’m less interested in English than in translation. I think translating is also writing, and all translators are writers, even if they don’t always allow themselves to be.
Your favorite translation?
Chronicles of a local child, By James Baldwin. I translated James Joyce but couldn’t see myself spending time with him, whereas Baldwin is so funny, friendly and witty. MTH:
Source: Le Figaro
