Translation Folio
- Translation Folio
[beaten down by so many white seasons]
beaten down by so many white seasonsI’ll succumb one dayI know it
but someplace there’ll be a treethe same that moved its branches in my poemsa ronier palm with leaves turning brownwhose sap will freely flow
I’ll sleep beside my dreamsmy childhood will melt in the morning mistmy spirit will follow the trampling of herdsa swallow will take to the aircarefully grazing the family plotmy mother’s shape will emerge at last from the gloom [End Page 18]
terrassés par l’amoncellement des saisons blanchesje succomberai un jourje le sais
mais il y aura quelque part un arbrele même qui remue ses branches dans mes poèmesun rônier aux feuilles roussiesdont la sève coulera à flots
je dormirai près de mes songesl’enfance se dissoudra dans le brouillard matinall’âme suivra le piétinement d’un troupeauune hirondelle s’envolerarasant de près la concession familialela silhouette de ma mère surgira enfin des ténèbres [End Page 19]
[shame on you]
shame on you for restricting meto this plot of landand handing me a tom-tom to beat
so take your hollowed-out Negritudecarry it like a viaticummake sure you don’t forget your assegailet alone your woven matthey expect you like thisclad in leopard skin
my only bondsare the sum of all intersectionsthe echoes of Babel [End Page 20]
honte à toi qui me cantonneà ce lopin de terreet me donne le tam-tam à battre
prends donc ta Négritude creuseporte-la comme viatiquesurtout n’oublie pas ta sagaieencore moins ta natteon t’attend ainsivêtu de peau de léopard
je n’ai pour attachesque la somme des intersectionsles échos de Babel [End Page 21]
[the umbilical cord’s agreement]
the umbilical cord’s agreementonly is binding to barnyard birdsthose who delimit horizonsto the village’s furthest abodes
one day we’ll read on the cryptthe last requests of the free mana white dove will fly over our disbelief
then who will give voiceto the song of Redemption [End Page 22]
le pacte du cordon ombilicalne lie que les oiseaux de basse-courceux qui délimitent l’horizonaux dernières habitations du village
un jour nous lirons sur la crypteles dernières volontés de l’homme libreune colombe blanche survolera notre incrédulité
qui donc entonnerale chant de la Rédemption [End Page 23]
Alain Mabanckou is considered one of Francophone Africa’s most prolific contemporary writers. Born in what is now called Congo-Brazzaville, Mabanckou’s work has garnered a multitude of awards, including the Prix de la Société des Poètes Français and the prestigious Grand Prix de la Littérature from the Académie Française. Twice a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, his themes include his love for mother and motherland, exile, civil war and political corruption, nostalgia for childhood, and hope for a better Africa-to-come. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, when Mabanckou was not teaching at UCLA, he spent his time between France or traveling the globe. This selection of translations by Nancy Naomi Carlson is part of her NEA-supported project, forthcoming from Seagull Books.
Nancy Naomi Carlson, poet, translator, essayist, and editor, has authored ten titles (six translated). An Infusion of Violets, her second full-length poetry collection, was published by Seagull Books (2019), and was called “New & Noteworthy” by the New York Times. A recipient of two translation grants from the NEA, she also has received a grant from the Maryland Council for the Arts, and was a finalist for the Best Translated Book Award, as well as the CLMP Firecracker Poetry Award. Her work has appeared in Pleiades, as well as in such journals as the American Poetry Review, The Georgia Review, The...
