Yet the thing that translates so easily about al-Khansa is her self-belief. It is quite easy for any of us in 2020 to imagine a woman poet being praised in such a meager way, “Not bad for someone with boobs.” And responding with a sharp-tongued jab at a man’s nether regions.
“The effect is one laden with impact; the depth of Al-Khansāʾ’s pain and the sense of an unrelenting onward force which strips away her strength and vitality is palpable.”
“We focused our talk on her “duets,” recent works that move between Arabic and English.”
Nine translations from the Arabic — at least, translated from the Arabic in some roundabout fashion — forthcoming this month.
“In other words, it’s important to welcome and embrace the uncertainties rather than to dismiss them[.]”
“Experienced translators know that for literary translations to be possible they must decide what they are prepared to leave out as much as what they have to retain…literary translation is thus more akin to trauma than it is to memory.”
