Ensayos, triunfos y tribulaciones en la difusión de la literatura canadiense. El efecto doppelgänger

México DF

Encuentro; Cuando Canadá viaja a América Latina. Reflexiones sobre transferencia y traducción; 2012

Facultad de Filosofía y Letras y Centro de Investigaciones sobre América del Norte, Universidad Autónoma de México

In 2004, 2009 and 2011, Centro Cultural Canadá Córdoba (CCCC), Argentina, sponsored the publication of three different Canadian prose anthologies translated or cotranslated by Guillermo Badenes, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC). These ventures represent three different perspectives in their selection criteria of texts, themes, authors and visions of the world. El viejo sofa azul (Anábasis: 2004), is a collection of short stories written by Canadian author Seymour Mayne. Voces del norte (Ícaro: 2009) is an anthology of short stories spanning almost 80 years selected by Seymour Mayne, who this time presented the work of other authors for translation. Finally, Qué onda Canadá (Comunicarte: 2011) covers over 200 years of Canadian literary history through fragments of narratives, novels, accounts, letters and short stories, a collection organized by Guillermo Badenes, who doubled as editor and cotranslator. Even though these anthologies intend to publicize Canadian culture, the three strike differences in the representation of Canadian literature they mean to transmit. The approaches to translation which all three books required also proved different, from the personal to the institutional, from the individual to the collective, from the guided to the independent, from the product-oriented to the process oriented, the road traveled entailed exhaustive research, versions and revisions that led to the publication of the books as cultural consumer objects. However, the differences in approach and the objectives of the projects geared their process, product and repercussions to different outcomes. While the first endeavor was commissioned by CCCC, the next two originated as action research projects at UNC. Similarly, El viejó sofa azul represents an anthology of contemporary short stories by a single author who was available for consultation during the translation process. In turn, the other two anthologies aim at showcasing a more historical perspective of Canadian letters. Regarding the distribution process, the first two books were edited by independent publishing houses with limited market presence. By contrast, the third one was published by a company with global distribution channels and massive outreach, especially among young adult readers. Lessons may be drawn from these different strategies. This paper is a case study which may shed light on the process of text selection, translation and promotion as a springboard to reflect a vision of Canadian literature in English.