Wednesday, January 25

Translation practice

Today you will receive a small excerpt in English to practice your translation skills.Tomorrow, we will send the answer keys and some comments about this text. Try to do the translation with your own words before consulting the dictionary.

“Graciliano Ramos received his initial recognition in the US in the period immediately before and after World War II, when critics praised his fluid narrative style, his unusually penetrating social criticism, and his poignant representation of a people in the little-known Brazilian Northeast. The US assessment and appreciation of Graciliano’s work has grown steadily over the years, to the point where, in this country, some of our most powerful and enduring literary images of Brazil can be traced back to his austere landscapes and remarkable characters, including the love-crazed Luís da Silva, the boisterous Paulo Honório, the humble Fabiano, and the ever-faithful Baleia. Today, Graciliano is a canonical figure in US university courses on Brazilian literature and culture and some of his fiction, particularly “Vidas Secas”, is often read in classes on film adaptation and comparative literature.”

SADLER, Darlene J. Reading Graciliano Ramos in the United States. Luso-Brazilian Review Vol. 47, No. 2 (2010), pp. 1-25.