Sam Friskey
on translating Gioconda Belli
As I translated this poem, the most important element that I wanted to maintain was its sensuality, as, after all, this poem is a guidebook in eroticism. I wanted my translation to flow out of the mouth — I wanted the words to feel like they themselves were living and wanting and seeping in their own sweat, as I felt about Belli’s words when I read the poem in its original language.
about the author
Born on December 9, 1948, Nicaraguan poet and activist Giaconda Belli is known for her celebration of the female body and working against the “cult of machismo.” In an interview with Bomb, she said that she often writes “about [her] body as a geographical metaphor for [her] country.” As an active member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, Belli worked to overthrow the dictatorship of Anastasio Samoza. It was her work with the SNFL that ultimately caused Belli to live in exile in Mexico and Costa Rica before returning to Nicaragua in 1979. Belli now spends her time in Nicaragua and the United States. She has lectured at Princeton, Columbia, Boston College, and the University of California at San Diego.
about the translator
Sam Friskey — always a playwright, occasionally a translator of Spanish poetry — is a senior in the College studying English with minors in economics and theater arts.
photo by Vivian Wen
