Ancestors that Wander Around: Translation and Comments on Leslie Marmon Silko’s Autobiographical Poems in ‘Storyteller’ by a Colombian Translatress

Abstract

Leslie Marmon Silko is a Native-American activist and author whose literary work strives to preserve Laguna Pueblo’s worldview and oral tradition by focusing on a communal autobiography with a genre perspective. This project aims to present the translation process and a reflexive comment on some of Silko's autobiographical poems in her book Storyteller (1981). Drawing on Hurtado Albir's translation techniques (2001) and Nord's problems (2005), the translatress, a self-defined woman translator, analyzed the rendering process of 15 non-traditional poems, reflecting on the main challenges faced alongside their effect on the decision-making in the target texts. The foregoing process strengthened the translator's position while remaining true to herself and evolving her own posture. Moreover, prior to the rendering, it was discovered that Silko's poems primarily consist of specialized terminology from the natural sciences, which provided a framework for the translation itself. This shows that translation can play a crucial role in preserving native cultures through its ability to bridge the gap between communities and make their cultural heritage accessible to a wider audience.