Nancy Naomi Carlson
Photo by Elizabeth Dranitzke
Bio
Nancy Naomi Carlson is a poet, translator, essayist, and editor, and has authored ten titles (six translated). An Infusion of Violets, her second full-length poetry collection, was published by Seagull Books (2019), and was named a “New & Noteworthy” title by the New York Times. A recipient of a previous translation grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, she also has received grants from the Maryland Council for the Arts and the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and was a finalist for the Best Translated Book Award as well as the CLMP Firecracker Poetry Award. Her work has appeared in such journals as APR, the Georgia Review, the Paris Review, and Poetry. A senior translation editor for Tupelo Quarterly, she holds two doctorates (one in foreign language methodology) and has been decorated with the rank of Chevalier in the Order of the French Academic Palms.
Project Description
To support the translation from the French of two poetry collections by Congolese author and poet Alain Mabanckou. One of francophone Africa's most prolific contemporary writers, Mabanckou (b. 1966) has published 12 novels, seven collections of poetry, and several books of nonfiction. Originally a legal advisor, Mabanckou decided to dedicate himself to writing and relocated to the United States. The collections in this project, The Rooster Announces the Dawn of Another Day and As Long as Trees Take Root in the Earth, explore themes of love for his mother and motherland (often intertwined), exile, civil war and political corruption, and hope for a better Africa. While his prose has been translated into almost 20 languages, none of his poetry collections appear in English.
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place, but being the recipient of another translation fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts is making me reconsider the truth to that saying. As a translator, like so many I know, I spend hours and hours each week at a computer in a study, sometimes spending inordinate amounts of time wrestling with a single translation dilemma—for me, probably trying to bring into my translation the music of the original text without sacrificing meaning. My study has a tiny sign on the door picturing the silhouette of a body in a yoga pose, with the caption “STRESS FREE ZONE.” Obviously what goes on in the study is anything but stress-free, but the sign serves to keep me calm and on track, as did, until only two months ago, the little 14-year-old schnoodle resting by my feet, cheering me on from her ladybug-shaped bed. The renewed support and recognition of the NEA will also help keep me on track. I am honored and grateful to receive this second fellowship, which will enable me to devote more time to my translation efforts and advocacy to bring voices from around the world—particularly from Africa and the Caribbean—to an English-speaking audience—voices that might otherwise go unheard. Long live the NEA!