Before Ferrante. Mapping Italian Women Writers in Translation

Translating Feminism in the Early 20th Century. Una donna by Sibilla Aleramo 

Speakers:
Anita Kłos (Marie Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland)
Melina Marquez (Independent Translator, Spain)

Anita Kłos (Marie Curie-Skłodowska University, Poland), ‘This Woman So Rightly Honest’. Sibilla Aleramo, Soava Gallone and the Polish Translation of Una donna

The Polish version of Sibilla Aleramo’s Una donna was published with the title Kobieta (A Woman) as a feuilleton in a Warsaw-based periodical “Prawda” between 1909 and 1910. The translation was authored by Stanisława Gallone (born Stanisława Winawerówna, 1880-1957), at the time an aspiring journalist and actress. Under the name of Soava, Stanisława achieved status of a great diva of the silent era. Similarly to Aleramo herself and to the protagonist of her debut novel, Stanisława had experienced an unhappy and allegedly violent marriage. A deep empathy towards Aleramo’s character united to militant feminist attitudes transpire from her letters to the author, now housed by Fondazione Gramsci in Rome. The paper focuses on the history of the translation and Gallone’s interpretation of Una donna. Additionally, it compares Aleramo’s type of a “women so rightly honest” with models of the ‘new woman’ proclaimed by the Polish feminist movements in the early 1900s. It also addresses the acquaintance between Gallone and Aleramo, which lasted over the years after the publication of Kobieta. 

Melina Márquez (Independent translator, Spain), Sibilla Aleramo in Spain. Translation and reception of Una mujer

Since its publication in 1906, the novel of Sibilla Aleramo, Una donna, has been published four times in Spanish by different Publishing Houses and in different political and historical periods. The aim of the contribution is to explore the whys and hows of the translations of this feminist novel during the 20th century. This presentation aims to draw a general picture of the reception of this novel in Spain while analysing the work of the translators and their role as ambassadors of Aleramo’s feminism in Spain.

All are welcome to attend this free seminar which will be held online via Zoom, starting at 6pm BST (UK time). Please register to receive the zoom link, by clicking Book Now at the top of this page.

Seminar Series Convenors: Carolina Rossi (Pisa University) and Mara Travella (Zurich University)

Programme
4 April
Translating Feminism in the Early 20th Century. Una donna by Sibilla Aleramo
11 April
Grazia Deledda's Trajectory. National and Foreign Reception of a Nobel Prize-Winning Female Author
18 April
Becoming a cosmopolitan writer. Alba De Céspedes between Italy and France
25 April
National Literary Prizes and Translation: Elsa Morante’s transnational reception
2 May
Roundtable on the 'Before Ferrante' Project