Mothering the other language: translation, self-translation, poetic creation

Abstract

This auto-biographical essay discusses inverse translation of poetry, self-translation and poetic creation. Working with personal narratives about translinguistic experiences, the paper also seeks to interrogate the voice that brings together thoughts and experiences under the discursive aegis of the “self” in its relations and tensions with linguistic plurality. To this purpose, the paper mobilizes other voices, establishing dialogues with Sylvia Molloy, Etel Adnan, Jacques Derrida. It also discusses the translation theories of Paul Ricœur, Haroldo de Campos and Walter Benjamin.

Keywords: inverse translation; self-translation; translingualism; poetry