This article is based on this Dutch article of Martinus Benders
It is done: I had to perch like an enormous toad atop every sentence, but in my view, it has become a very fine French translation that truly holds its own against the original.
You know, the collection that wasn’t reviewed anywhere in the Netherlands. True enough, I didn’t send it out to anyone — but honestly, how seriously can you take ‘poetry enthusiasts’ who only discuss what you shove under their nose? Not very.
No, we are setting off. And French, of course, is an extraordinarily beautiful language. My command of French is good enough to track the translation line by line, indeed like a toad, often opting for unconventional translation choices in places where things didn’t want to flow naturally.
In Italy, I tried three publishers and hit the mark straightaway, so there’s every reason to write to a few French publishers as well. One must do this carefully: find out which publishing houses suit your voice, and three is quite enough. Targeted efforts. If it doesn’t work out, so be it, but I won’t start spamming.
In two weeks, our Great Journey begins. At first, we won’t go too far afield: heading towards the region of the Brothers Grimm. That’s the only certainty at this point — beyond that, I don’t yet know what we will do. I want to work on my projects in beautiful, quiet places. And fortunately, Veer wants the same.
If you are fluent in French and would like to proofread the collection, drop me a line.
Kind regards,
Martinus Benders