A unique presentation in celebration of José Martí‘s birthday, with the objective of generating interest in his writings among English-speaking readers. Anne Fountain, a distinguished Martí scholar, will assess the caliber, or lack thereof, of different English translations of Martí’s oeuvre. While excellent translations of his work are available, not all translators have conveyed Martí’s writing successfully. Fountain’s talk will present examples of prose translations that range from top notch to problematic.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A with Anne Fountain via Zoom, moderated by Ricardo Gil, director of our Martí Studies Program.
This event is part of our CreateNYC Language Access Series on Cuban History, Art, and Literature. It will be held in English and will be streamed through our YouTube channel.
TO ATTEND, CLICK HERE ON THE SCHEDULED DATE AND TIME:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leFW2Z77jcI
To participate in the Q&A via Zoom, click here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89526024766
Anne Fountain is Professor Emerita, San José State University. Her books
about José Martí include, José Martí and U.S. Writers (2003); Versos Sencillos: A Dual Language Edition (2005); José Martí, the United States, and Race (2014); and Ramona: Novela Americana, edición crítica (2018) a critical edition with introduction in Spanish of Martí’s 1888 translation of the Helen Hunt Jackson novel of 1884. She has published numerous chapters, articles, and reviews about Martí and Cuban topics including the chapter on Martí in A Companion to World Literature, Vol 5a, John Wiley & Sons (2020). She served as Guest speaker and consultant for National Endowment for the Humanities Institutes about Martí in 2002 (University of South Florida) and 2019 (University of Tampa) and was the subject of a C-SPAN interview about José Martí. The United States, and Race in February 2017. She is currently working on a a book called Teaching “Nuestra América.” Fountain’s sensitive translation of Martí’s Versos Sencillos, his 1891 collection of poems, is widely considered the most faithful English rendition of Martí’s seminal work.
Image above: Dania Sierra’s José Martí con un amigo sincero (oil on canvas, 20w x 24h x 1d”) at https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Jose-Marti-Con-un-Amigo-Sincero/561637/6472359/view
This event is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York State Legislature.
With the promotional cooperation of
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“Martí in Translation: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Unusual” is a complementary presentation of our XXII Congreso Anual, this year dedicated to further exploration of José Martí’s life and legacy, on the 170th anniversary year of his birth, to be held at Barnard College on Sunday, November 12, 2023.