The third and final interview in our series of
interviews with the editors/translators of the three anthologies of Rosalía de
Castro’s Galician and Spanish poetry available in English is with Aileen Dever,
who together with her father, John P. Dever, edited and translated The Poetry and Prose of Rosalía de Castro
for Edwin Mellen Press in 2010.
What made you want to
translate work by Rosalía de Castro?
My father and I were drawn to the beauty and meaningfulness of Rosalía’s
poetry and essays. We thought it could be useful to bring to English a larger
selection of her work for scholars, creative writers, and those who simply
enjoy reading poetry and prose.
How difficult was it to find
a publisher? Who made the initial contact, you or the publisher?
It was not difficult to find a publisher as Edwin Mellen Press regularly
has a representative and published material about the company at one of the
conferences I regularly attend. When my father and I decided to do the
translation, we sent the manuscript proposal to Mellen simply because we knew
them.
There were two of you
translating this book. How did you share the workload?
My father had recently retired from his teaching position and was
looking for projects to do. I thought this might be a nice project to engage
his mind and one in which he could continue to utilize his skills. We divided
up the poems and essays equally. Then we would do our own translations; next we
would exchange them and edit each other’s work.
Which edition of Rosalía de
Castro’s texts did you use?
Castro, Rosalía
de. Obras completas. Ed. Marina
Mayoral. 2 vols. Madrid
What were the main criteria
you used in your selection?
The main criteria used included selections that we found meaningful,
beautiful and artistic in addition to seeking a wide representation of
Rosalía’s themes. We wanted readers to have a very good idea of who she was.
Was there a difference
between translating texts from Galician and Spanish?
I would say that I particularly enjoyed translating the Galician texts
because I think they truly represent Rosalía’s greatest work.
Did you receive any input
from the publisher – did they comment on the translation or did they limit
themselves to publishing the book?
The manuscript was sent out for review and one critic thought the
manuscript was too long, so we shortened it a bit. As I recall, there were no
comments that stand out about the actual translations. The comments were more
directed to the introduction, which they found rather prosaic, and, thinking about
it, I would have to agree.
What kind of reception has
the book received? How well has it been distributed?
We have received some comments here and there, but not much beyond that.
That’s all right. We understood when we undertook the project that it would
probably fill a lacuna for a small group of people. We do hope, though, that professors
may bring some of her poems into their classrooms.
What place do you think Rosalía
de Castro occupies in world literature today?
I believe that Rosalía de Castro occupies a place that is edging closer
to that of Emily Dickinson, her U.S.
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