Poet, critic, translator and president of the World Group of Writers, Margarita Al, shares her experiences translating Wale Okediran's 'Travels of a Troubadour', a set of travelogues, into Russian.
ON February 2, 2023, in Cairo, Egypt, Nigerian author Wale Okediran was introduced because the laureate of the sixth Open Eurasian Literature Pageant (LitFest-2023).
In response to the competitors rules, the laureate will obtain the chance to take part within the pageant and a voucher for publishing a ebook within the “Golden LitFest. Writers of Eurasia” collection. For the primary time, the prize went to a novelist, as beforehand it was solely received by poets from Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Egypt.
The ebook presentation of the sixth Laureate Wale Okediran passed off on April 5, 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria, in the course of the first Congress of the WOW.
Okediran writes in English. Even after I bought acquainted with the works of the contributors of the pageant, his works had been observed and attracted consideration.
To determine the ultimate vote, I needed to translate a number of chapters of his assortment of travelogues. Extra chapters adopted. So I spent over a yr translating his ebook. His creativity enriched my view of the world and opened up a brand new, fashionable literary Africa for me.
In Okediran's assortment of tales, 'Travels of a Troubadour', I discovered a singular interweaving of cultures, histories and experiences protecting totally different corners of the world.
The creator, who’s each a traveler and a literary chronicler, created a mosaic of impressions from visits to international locations, areas and cities similar to Texas, Istanbul, Rwanda, Abuja, Taiwan, Togo, Kumasi, Algeria, Morocco, Tangier, Pakistan, and Alexandria, but additionally of a return to Ghana.
Every story supplies a deeply private take a look at the cultural idiosyncrasies, historic moments, and sociopolitical context of every place, describing each the thrill of discovery and the painful moments of encountering cruelty and injustice.
Okediran effortlessly transports the reader from one metropolis to a different, showcasing the variety of the African continent and the world. He doesn’t shrink back from tackling complicated points, similar to the implications of colonialism, genocide in Rwanda, issues of contemporary society and the interior conflicts that his characters expertise.
On the similar time, his tales are filled with descriptions of the great thing about nature, the richness of cultures and enduring human values.
'Travels of a Troubadour' isn’t just a set of tales, however an exploration of humanity by the lens of journey and literature. Okediran skillfully makes use of his literary travels to discover and perceive complicated problems with id, belonging, and transformation, making this assortment a necessary contribution to the worldwide cultural mosaic.
It’s a nice pleasure and honor for me to translate the works of the main world author Okediran into Russian.
- Initially revealed in The Asian In Korean
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