MORRISON, TRAORÉ AND NÓS: black feminist translations
Black Transla tion; intersectionali ty ; Toni Morrison ; Rokia Trao ré
This dissertation aims
to analyze and translate from English to Brazilian Portuguese
scenes five, eight, and nine of the play Desdemona, written by Toni Morrison with song
lyrics by Rokia Traoré. In Desdemona, characters from "Othello, the Moor of Venice"
meet again in an afterl ife and talk about their childhoods, family relationships, and
hidden stories in the Shakespearean play. In partnership with Traoré, Morrison
presents a black feminist translation of the dramatic text, already recognized as canon,
based on a revisionist ch aracter, and with ethical and aesthetic choices that highlight
Afrodiasporic traits, thus creating other stories for the characters. In the first section,
we discuss these traits, such as writing in partnership, the creation of a space time that
distances itself from the Western conception of time, and the resonance of previously
silenced female voices. The scenes of encounters between the female characters are
translated in section two with comments on the writers' aesthetic choices and how they
are reflec ted in our translation choices. In section three, we present a deeper analysis
of the female characters' dialogues and the tensions in their relationships using
intersectionality as an analytical tool. Our analysis and translation are based on
theoretical premises from African diaspora researchers such as Leda Maria Martins,
Lélia Gonzalez, Conceição Evaristo, and translators from the Black Atlantic such as
Denise Carrascosa, Geri Augusto, and Tiganá Santana.