São Paulo – Brazilian renowned writer Clarice Lispector’s debut novel was translated into Arabic by Safa Jubran. Near to the Wild Heart, first published by Lispector in 1946, was oficially launched in the Guimarães Rosa Institute in Beirut, Lebanon.
The book frames the daily life of Joana, from her boarding school years to her parents’ absence and her aunt’s refusal to take care of her to her falling in love with her teacher and her marriage with Otávio, when she has to face her husband’s lover’s pregnancy and her own. The story is focused on her interior life, including the facts around it, her heartbreaks, and a search for a reason to live.
“I believe readers will like to read it in their own language. The messages I received onsocial media and by email after the announcement made me incredibly happy. Readers of Lispector should be prepared, as I wrote in my preface to Água Vivia,” Jubran told ANBA.
Clarice Lispector was born in Ukraine but came to Brazil when she was still a child and became a naturalized Brazilian citizen. She died at 56 in 1977, leaving some of the most admired works of Brazilian literature.
Lebanese Brazilian Safa Jubran is one of the most renowned Portuguese-Arabic translators and had previously translated into her original language another book by Lispector, Água Viva, which was launched in 2003 by the same publisher that has launched Near to the Wild Heart, Lebanon’s Dar Al Adab. Jubran also translated The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão by Martha Batalha for the same publishing house.
Translating a book by Lispector has a special meaning for Jubran. When the publisher first contacted her to translate a Lisbector’s book, she said this was her dream. “Translating one of the most important and internationally recognized authors was a major challenge. Lispector’s texts always leave me in a state of awe. It manages to reach the Arabic as a text that’s nearly poetic. Each word was measured for both its meaning and sound,” says Jubran, who has been praised for the astonishing result.
The translation was carried out from the original Brazilian Portuguese. Safa Jubran has also translated into Arab other renowned authors from Brazil. In addition to Martha Batalha and Clarice Lispector, she translated Two Brothers by Milton Hatoum, a collection featuring short stories by Marco Lucchesi, Marcelo Maluf, Raduan Nassar and Michel Sleiman, as well as comics and children’s books. She’s currently finishing a translation into Arabic of Ancient Tillage by Raduan Nassar.
The Dar Al Adab’s Arabic edition of Near to the Wild Heart is expected to reach all Arab countries, either directly or indirectly via partner publishers.
Lispector’s book was launched in Lebanon
The launch in the Guimarães Rosa Institute took place on May 30 and featured an exhibition of watercolors by Najah Taher, who illustrated the book cover. Taher participated in the launch that was attended by people in the literary scene and Brazilian Portuguese students. The artist also illustrated the cover of the other Clarice Lispector’s book translated by Jubran.
The launch featured the ambassador from Brazil to Beirut, Tarcísio Costa, the head of the cultural department at the Embassy, Renata Negrelly, and the general manager of Dar Al Adab, Rana Idriss, and other public figures. The Guimarães Rosa Institute is Brazilian government’s agency focused on cultural and educational diplomacy working in connection with embassies.
Read more:
Brazilian literature on Arabic pages
Egypt: An Arab home to Brazilian books
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
