CHENNAI: To bring the writings of popular American poet and writer Maya Angelou’s work to Tamil heartland, the US Consulate, Chennai, for the first time, has translated the author’s famous works for readers of the State.
The translated books will be made available for readers to borrow from the American Center.
The translation of the two well-received books And Still I Rise and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings were translated by R Sivakumar and Bernard Chandra, respectively. The launch on Friday was done as part of the Black History Month and Women’s History Month as the world’s first authorised Tamil-language version of two books by the actor and civil rights activist Angelou.
For this, the Consulate collaborated with Kalachuvadu, a publishing house to translate her 1969 landmark memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which was the first non-fiction best-seller by an African American woman. And, the house also published the famous a collection of 32 poems, including the famous Still I Rise and Phenomenal Woman.
Speaking to DT Next, Bernard Chandra who translated the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings said, “When I start translating the work of authors like Angelou, I begin by worshipping their work. Because, they have managed to pull off creative work that I may not be able to do. And I’m committed to keeping the original work of the author intact.”
Subsequently, Sivakumar who translated the And Still I Rise collection of poems in two months, pointed out how translation is never a finished product. “We’ve translated the work of such a multifaceted person, so it’s likely that it may have gaps,” he noted.
When asked about what books of US authors and poets must be translated, translators mentioned the works Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and William Faulkner. State’s bureau of South and Central Asia office of press and public diplomacy deputy director Anne Seshadri, writer-activist Salma, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, US embassy, New Delhi’s minister-counselor for public diplomacy Gloria Berbena, attended the event.