Jamaican writer
and academic Elizabeth “Betty” Wilson ranks among the first modern translators
in the Caribbean region, translating both poetry and prose, from French and
Spanish to English. Her trail-blazing role is receiving new attention in 2020,
particularly as the publishing sector pledges - once more - to include more
diverse voices.
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| Scholar and translator Betty Wilson. |
Wilson’s works
include the novels Juletane, by the late Guadeloupean writer Myriam
Warner-Vieyra (Heinemann, 1987); Exile according to Julia (L’Exil selon Julia)
by French-Caribbean author Gisèle Pineau (CARAF, University of Virginia Press,
2003); and Aunt Résia and the Spirits and Other Stories - the first collection
of short fiction in English by the acclaimed Haitian writer Yanick Lahens
(CARAF, 2010).
When The
Caribbean Writer journal devoted a special bilingual issue to “Ayiti/Haiti” in
2011, Wilson translated Raymond Mair’s poem "Haiti 200" for the
volume. This followed several earlier publications, such as the translation of
poems by Francophone Caribbean writers from Guadeloupe, Haiti, and Martinique,
for a special issue of The Literary Review in 1992.
Wilson is a
former head of the Department of French at the University of the West Indies,
Mona, Jamaica. Now retired, she taught French language and literature as well
as translation at UWI’s Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. She was
also an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Literatures in English for five
years, in charge of the graduate course “Women, Gender and Fiction”.
With her
sister, the author Pam Mordecai, Wilson edited Her True-True Name (Heinemann,
1989), the first anthology of writing by Caribbean women. In addition, she
served, for many years, as a member of the French Examining Committee of the
Caribbean Examination Council, including being Chief Examiner for French at
both the secondary and advanced levels.
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| Juletane, by Myriam Warner-Vieyra, translated by Betty Wilson. |
Wilson lives in
Jamaica, where she remains active in supporting Caribbean literature. Her
translation of 19 poems by the Cuban poet Dulce Maria Loynaz, with colleague
Ileana Sanz, is awaiting publication, and she continues to work on
Warner-Vieyra's short stories, Femmes échouées, and on poems by Mauritian poet
Édouard Maunick. The following interview was conducted by email.
SWAN: When did
you first become interested in languages, and how / where did you learn French,
Creole, and Spanish?
WILSON: I've
always loved languages. I started learning French and Spanish in high school. I
am bi-lingual in Jamaican Standard English and Jamaican Creole but,
unfortunately, I do not speak French Creole fluently. I was blessed to have
great language teachers, and literature and languages have always been my
favourite subjects.
SWAN: When did
you start translating, and why?
WILSON: I did
Latin in secondary school for seven years. It was taught very traditionally,
and we always had to translate, which I liked. I enjoyed working out the
puzzles and getting the message just right. My first published translation was
the novella Juletane (Heinemann). At the time I was working for Heinemann
Publishers in Jamaica and they found out I was fluent in French. They asked me
if I would consider translating the book which they wished to publish. I found
I really enjoyed the project. Two years later I was asked to do translations of
poems by Edouard Maunick from Mauritius for the literary journal Callaloo. I had
said I would never translate poetry. It
was much more challenging, but I found it very satisfying.
SWAN: How
important is translation to Caribbean and world literature, especially now?
WILSON: Very
important. Otherwise most people would only have a window into their own world
and not be able to experience other cultures through great texts like War and
Peace, Don Quixote, Senghor's poetry, Wide Sargasso Sea or A House for Mr.
Biswas. I have had good feedback from friends who do not read French about the
importance to them of my translations. It is especially important now for us to
appreciate one another's cultures and world view.
SWAN: What can
writers and the publishing industry do to support and promote translation?
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| A novel by Gisèle Pineau, translated by Betty Wilson. |
WILSON: For
starters, the publishing industry could pay literary translators more
appropriately; right now, it is a labour of love. "Professional"
translators generally won't touch literary assignments. Writers could recommend
books they have read in translation or in the original to their publishers for
translation and publishing and seek avenues to have their own works translated.
SWAN: What is
your opinion on the state of language teaching in the Caribbean?
WILSON:
Language teaching has come a long way though we are still far behind
Scandinavian countries and regions like Africa and India where English is not
the first language. Most French teachers in the Caribbean are pedagogically
trained, but more language teachers need to be trained. The Department of
Modern Languages at UWI now offers several languages, but the departments of
Education have largely not kept pace in terms of offering professional training
in methodologies. In some countries active language teachers' associations -
like JAFT (French) in Jamaica - attempt to fill the gap with workshops and
seminars.
SWAN: How can
people in the literary sphere help to bridge the linguistic "divides"
in the region?
WILSON:
Departments of literature (in English) could offer more texts in translation in
their course offerings. Public readings could also be encouraged, as well as
interviews with writers. Films like Sugarcane Alley, based on the Martinican
novel by Joseph Zobel (La rue Cases-Nègres) or films like Strawberry and
Chocolate (Senel Paz, Cuba) or Like Water for Chocolate (Laura Esquivel,
Mexico), as well as "foreign" film festivals have done a lot to
promote the literatures of other countries. Literary festivals like Calabash in
Jamaica have also introduced and promoted writers who do not write in English.
This is the
first in a planned series of translator profiles, in association with The
Caribbean Translation Project (Twitter: @CaribTranslate), an initiative to
promote the translation of literature from and about the Caribbean.
August is Women
in Translation Month, a programme launched in 2014 by blogger Meytal
Radzinski. #WITMonth
