JOURNEYS by Nadine Ltaif, translation Christine Tipper

Lecture de Christine Tipper de l'extrait : HAGAR
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Je suis heureuse de vous annoncer la parution de la traduction anglaise d’un choix de mes poèmes regroupés sous le titre JOURNEYS, traduits par mon amie et poète Christine Tipper, aux éditions Guernica. 

Je suis honorée par ce troisième livre traduit publié chez Guernica et ma deuxième collaboration avec Christine Tipper qui a déjà traduit Entre les fleuves (Changing Shores) dans la même maison.

Nadine Ltaif's poems reflect deeply on the meaning of life, of regrets and the irrepressible determination to continue living. The poet takes us to Carthage; to Andalusia to contemplate its history of Moors, wars and religion; to India where women lives, past and present, are expressed through vivid imagery. Hamra sees the exiled poet return to Beirut, the childhood home she fled in 1975. Yet, her poems are full of colour and lightness as she explores her old neighbourhood. This you will not read is a letter of love and absence in Montreal. Journeys are inspirational for Ltaif.

Christine Tipper is an internationally published poet and translator living in England. She has a passion for languages, translation, and the creative arts in general. She translated

numerous poems from French into English, including Nadine Ltaif’s Changing Shores (Guernica, 2009), Danielle Fournier’s We come from the same light (Guernica, 2011), Francis Catalano’s Where spaces glow (Guernica, 2013), and Lélia Young’s I write these words, (Inanna, 2013). Her works appear in the following Anthologies: Domestic Cherry 3 (2013) and Osiris (2015).

Review

Review by Sunny Chan

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Changing Shores

Changing Shores (traduction de Entre les fleuves) traduit par Christine Tipper

pour se procurer le livre :

             Guernica Editions, Montréal, 2009

http://www.guernicaeditions.com/title.php?id=9781550712735

Christine Tipper’s translation of Nadine Ltaif’s Entre les fleuves would be of real interest to all those readers who enjoy both prose and verse. In a voice that blends prose with poetry, it tells the tale of one woman’s emotional and cultural journey using vivid mythological imagery to paint a moving portrait of exile, loss, love and new beginnings. Leaving Lebanon for a new life in Canada, Ltaif expresses the sense of rootlessness she gains in exchange for her newfound freedom. Yet, her tale is one of hope and rebirth when ultimately she comes to terms with her exile by being reborn into this new life that she has chosen.

The first part of this poetry collection, “In Hectate’s Shadow” tells of a thirst for love and acceptance in a world where misunderstanding and hope coexist. This comes at a price. When Ltaif finally gives herself permission to pursue the love and desire that her former lifestyle forbade, she is rocked by an unexpected sadness and sense of loss. She had not foreseen these emotions would be so overwhelming.  The second part, “Exile,” expresses Ltaif’s love for her new land, Canada, and her need to bid farewell to the Orient in order to embrace the freedoms, but also the resulting feelings of rootlessness, that exile brings. In the final part, “Strong Sap,” she draws on Arabic mythology to describe the roots that she discards in her bid for rebirth in the new land. Ltaif’s vivid metaphorical language voices the dichotomy of the repression of a woman’s femininity in the Arab world and its celebration in Canadian society. Ltaif’s journey from the shadow of Hecate ends on a positive note with her feeling free to spread her wings and able to continue the eternal cycle of life in her adopted country.

Christine Tipper holds a PhD and a Masters in French Literary Translation from the University of Exeter, England, and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, the Society of Authors and the Conseil International d’Études Francophone. She translates prose, poetry and theatre scripts. She also teaches interpreting and translating on Masters programmes at the University of Bath.