A study of the work translated into Italian by the Catalan writer of Moroccan origin Najat El Hachmi is hereby presented in order to reflect on her fortune in Italy, which to date has certainly been rather partial and has not allowed the Italian public to really get to know the author's literary project. The translations of El Hachmi's work into Italian are concentrated in two stages and in two different publishing houses: in a first instance, La città degli amori infedeli - from L'últim patriarca (Planeta, 2008) by Sara Cavarero (Newton Compton, 2012) - and La casa dei tradimenti - from La caçadora de cossos (Columna, 2011), by Sara Miletto (Newton Compton, 2014) - were translated, the latter translated from the Spanish version La cazadora de cuerpos. The two novels published after these translations - which complete the trilogy that began with L'últim patriarca, La filla estrangera (Edicions 62, 2015) and Mare de llet i mel (Edicions 62, 2018) - have not yet been released in Italy. Neither has two of this author's most important texts been translated: the identity manifesto Jo també sóc catalana (Columna, 2004) and the feminist manifesto Sempre han parlat per nosaltres (Destino, 2019). While it is easy to understand the reasons for the non-translation of the former, which does not have a version in any other language due to the subjects it deals with, which are particularly deep-rooted in Catalonia, it is more difficult to discern the reasons that have prevented the entire trilogy and the feminist manifesto from being published in Italy. Following the Nadal Prize El lunes nos querrán (2021), the author's international projection grew exponentially, and in February 2023, Lunedì ci ameranno, a translation by Francesco Ferrucci (SEM) of the Catalan version Dilluns ens estimaran, was published in Italy. Between the first two Italian translations and this one, El Hachmi's work has remained consistent with the image with which she was originally introduced to the public, showing her face: when this is not the case, her work is almost always presented through a female face, often from the Maghreb, to reveal the two fundamental issues of her entire project: feminism and (self-)identification. Upon studying the paratext of the original work and its translations, one reflects on the importance of respecting the very strong relationship between the text and the cover image, as well as between these two and the title of the work, to ensure that the translated message does not arrive incomplete. We shall see if the new publishing house, with the move from Newton Compton to SEM, and the fact of having entrusted Najat El Hachmi's work to an experienced and award-winning translator such as Ferrucci will finally result in this author gaining the (re)recognition she deserves in Italy as well.
La recepció de Najat El Hachmi a Itàlia: finalment un paratext ‘amb cara i ulls’.
Maria Carreras i Goicoechea
2023-01-01
Abstract
A study of the work translated into Italian by the Catalan writer of Moroccan origin Najat El Hachmi is hereby presented in order to reflect on her fortune in Italy, which to date has certainly been rather partial and has not allowed the Italian public to really get to know the author's literary project. The translations of El Hachmi's work into Italian are concentrated in two stages and in two different publishing houses: in a first instance, La città degli amori infedeli - from L'últim patriarca (Planeta, 2008) by Sara Cavarero (Newton Compton, 2012) - and La casa dei tradimenti - from La caçadora de cossos (Columna, 2011), by Sara Miletto (Newton Compton, 2014) - were translated, the latter translated from the Spanish version La cazadora de cuerpos. The two novels published after these translations - which complete the trilogy that began with L'últim patriarca, La filla estrangera (Edicions 62, 2015) and Mare de llet i mel (Edicions 62, 2018) - have not yet been released in Italy. Neither has two of this author's most important texts been translated: the identity manifesto Jo també sóc catalana (Columna, 2004) and the feminist manifesto Sempre han parlat per nosaltres (Destino, 2019). While it is easy to understand the reasons for the non-translation of the former, which does not have a version in any other language due to the subjects it deals with, which are particularly deep-rooted in Catalonia, it is more difficult to discern the reasons that have prevented the entire trilogy and the feminist manifesto from being published in Italy. Following the Nadal Prize El lunes nos querrán (2021), the author's international projection grew exponentially, and in February 2023, Lunedì ci ameranno, a translation by Francesco Ferrucci (SEM) of the Catalan version Dilluns ens estimaran, was published in Italy. Between the first two Italian translations and this one, El Hachmi's work has remained consistent with the image with which she was originally introduced to the public, showing her face: when this is not the case, her work is almost always presented through a female face, often from the Maghreb, to reveal the two fundamental issues of her entire project: feminism and (self-)identification. Upon studying the paratext of the original work and its translations, one reflects on the importance of respecting the very strong relationship between the text and the cover image, as well as between these two and the title of the work, to ensure that the translated message does not arrive incomplete. We shall see if the new publishing house, with the move from Newton Compton to SEM, and the fact of having entrusted Najat El Hachmi's work to an experienced and award-winning translator such as Ferrucci will finally result in this author gaining the (re)recognition she deserves in Italy as well.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
