The main conceit behind this work is that to accurately portray my relationship with Spanish, I have to explore the pain and ambiguity of not speaking the language of my grandparents and ancestors. As a result, these poems are bilingual \u2026 sort of. Each one is translated into English incorrectly.<\/p>\n
The poems I produced have secrets, horrific twists, emotional rants, and confessions hiding in the Spanish. It\u2019s my hope that people can appreciate them regardless of their level of Spanish proficiency.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
As an example, her poem “La sirena y pescador \/ The mermaid and the fisherman”:<\/p>\n
A more faithful translation of the Spanish, provided by featherquillpen<\/a> on Tumblr, would be:<\/p>\n The mermaid rose from the sea The fisherman caught her by the tail The mermaid began to sing to the sea She sang to the fisherman, “I forgive you, The translator notes: “The reason this mistranslation is so brilliant is that it takes a story about a mermaid trying to forgive a man who\u2019s committed senseless violence against her, and turns it into a story about a man who uplifts a woman to a better life out of the kindness of his heart. And the thing is, that\u2019s exactly what happens to so many stories from colonized cultures when they\u2019re adapted by the oppressor. Translation into English, and further the cultural language of the oppressor, can be an act of violence and erasure rather than one of respect.”<\/p>\n Another mistranslated poem is “El vampiro \/ ICE”:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/shannon.users.sonic.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Capture.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nTo see the dry world.
\nShe found a fisherman on the beach
\nThis beautiful fish without a net.
\nShe had a gleaming tail; scales
\nthat covered her breasts, arms, and face
\nand a wake of lacy waves.<\/p>\n
\nand cut it in half.
\n“Now,” he said to her, “you have legs.
\nWhy don\u2019t you walk?”<\/p>\n
\nfor aid, her blood transforming
\nthe sand of the beach into rainbows.<\/p>\n
\nI forgive you, I forgive you.”<\/p>\n