Translating Gustave Akakpo’s à Petites Pierres: heterogeneous writing and the issue of proverbs

Abstract

This article is the outcome of discussions we had while translating the play À petites pierres by Gustave Akakpo in conjunction with students from the University of Brasilia (UnB) French Translation course (Rodrigo D’Avila, Jana Araújo and Dyhorrani Beira) at the behest of Professor Maria da Glória Magalhães dos Reis, coordinator of the Group En classe et en scène (UnB). The challenge drove us to discuss theoretical, ethical, historical and epistemological issues arising from translation as both a reading and writing activity, i.e. within the poetics of translation (Meschonnic, 1999). Although numerous issues arose, this article will focus on those related to the translation process, the dramatic text (a tragic farce/farce-tragedy), migrant poetics (heterogeneity) and a proverb duel (language gestus).

Keywords

• à petites pierres
• gustave akakpo
• poética heterogênea
• tradução
• provérbios