In translating Julia Peçanha's “Soft Hair” and Eric Schlich’s “When You are Old and I Am Gray,” I discovered the challenging, yet rewarding aspects of translation. Since one piece is poetry and the other is flash fiction, I learned how to approach each differently, while still being able to work on them with equal diligence. In Peçanha’s “Soft Hair,” the themes of space and self were prevalent throughout the piece, which made the piece much more unique. The theme of space and its space terminologies, such as event horizon, black hole, and quasar, opened up a whole new side of the French language that I had been unfamiliar with. I utilized the French space program, CNES, to source the correct terminology. Additionally, the title “Soft Hair” led me to research the connection between that and space. The concept of soft hair is connected to Stephen Hawking’s research of black holes and how, when some of the particle is left around the black hole’s event horizon, is called soft hair. I focused on determining the proper usage of the vocabulary while keeping its poetic artistry.
In my translation, I worked to convey the proper form and musicality of the piece while also maintaining its meaning. In “Soft Hair” it was difficult to convey the innuendos which carry both the literal and figurative meanings. As an example, there are two separate French words for “turned on” whether it is sexual (excité) or not (allumer), but to convey both meanings, I ultimately chose to convey the sexual aspect. I chose this to highlight the poem’s overarching themes of sexual energy that is present in the piece.
In terms of the flash fiction piece, one of the struggles I had with “When You are Old and I Am Gray” was choosing the right words that would be able to create a similar image in the reader’s mind that was found in the piece, even if it wasn’t exactly the same in English. In the lines, “faucet running, dryer blowing, the clatter of makeup in the sink,” there was some difficulty in trying to keep the musicality of the sentence flowing. I had to decide between the words, “bruit” which means noise, and “cliquetis” which is noise but more of a clattering sound. I chose to use “cliquetis” because of the nature of the piece and in order to keep its musical aspects alive. While this was a struggle in the initial stages, it also proved to be a benefit to my experience with the pieces, as I was able to appreciate them more and be able to understand that although there might not be a direct word for some of the terms, it was fascinating to still be able to find words that could mimic the imagery or create something new.
Translating these pieces proved to me just how vast and beautiful the process can be and its ability to help me grow in both French and English when it comes to the literary aspects of each of them. I am grateful to my translation reviewers, Sionainn Ditto and Brandon Blue, for their critiques and guidance in this process. I would also like to thank Dr. Balderrama for her support and enthusiasm in my translations. Thank you.
About the Translator
Sienna Blakely is a current undergraduate student majoring in English Literature and double minoring in French and Global Studies at Arizona State University. After living in Arizona for most of her life, she gained a desire to travel and learn multiple languages, including French, which also lead her to be interested in literary translation. After graduating she hopes to pursue a career in literary translation. (updated 2023)
Translations
“Soft Hair” by Julia Peçanha (French)
“When You Are Old and I Am Gray” by Eric Schlich (French)
With grateful acknowledgment to French language reviewers: Sionainn Ditto & Brandon Blue