Authors and Translators: Collaboration or War?

Event Type: Discussion Forum / Lecture 

Date and Time:  Wednesday, February 28, 2018 at 5:00pm

Location: Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Intercultural Center, 450, 37th and O St., N.W., Washington

 Many authors quake at the notion of having their work translated. After struggling for years—sometimes decades—to produce a book, they worry that their message as well as their style will be lost in translation. The issue is especially thorny in the case of biofiction, a genre that combines a fact-based portrait of a real person with the narrative techniques of fiction. Biofiction authors not only strive to achieve clever plots, narrative integrity, and historical accuracy, but also to capture the spirit and psyche of their subjects. Translators of biofiction face special challenges, for they must seek both textual accuracy and authenticity of voice. Georgetown Prof. Emerita Barbara Mujica is author of three highly successful bio-novels, including the bestseller Frida, which has been translated into eighteen languages. Recently, her novel Sister Teresa, based on the life of Teresa de Ávila, was published in Spanish in Santiago, Chile. Dr. Mujica will discuss the creation of the novel, and then she and the translators, Mónica Vallín and Inés Corujo Martín, both former Georgetown graduate students, will discuss the experience of transforming Sister Teresa into Hermana Teresa. All of Dr. Mujica’s novels will be available for purchase at the author’s discount.