Literatura neo-quebecka w przekładzie : pomiędzy Francją, Quebekiem i Polską, czyli "Nieznany dybuk" Regine Robin

Abstract

Generally unfamiliar to Polish readers - regardless of a growing number of translations - Francophone Canadian literature poses an unusual challenge to Polish interpreters. One of the reasons for it is the fact that Quebecois literary texts are often seen as a weapon in the struggle for national identity and for independence from the dominant Anglophone culture. An interpreter’s task, however, becomes yet more difficult when s/he faces a neo-Quebec literary work, i.c., one written by an author bom outside of Quebec, who nonetheless has chosen the province as his/her place of living. Neo-Quebec literature embraces, therefore, the writer’s “original" national identity, as well as a whole spectrum of references to his/her host culture. In the translation process, it is further enriched with questions concerning its reception in the target culture. Régine Robin's “An Unknown Dybbuk” (Kwartalnik Literacki TEKA, no. 5-6, 2005/2006, trans. Piotr Sadkowski) is an interesting illustration of the complicated network of cultural dependencies. Robin, whose literary oeuvre has been classified as "migrant literature.” was bom in France but has settled in Quebec. It might seem, then, that in her case cultural transition was relatively uncomplicated, as she can still write in French. Interestingly, however, what the author constantly emphasizes in her works is her Eastern-European and Jewish roots. The world she creates in her novels and short-stories is inhabited by the author’s alter egos who, in an often unusual and striking way, point to the problem of a complex and fragmented identity. The following analysis aims to discuss the intricate relationship between the original (hybrid and heterogenic) version of "An Unknown Dybbuk” and its Polish translation thanks to which Robin's story has returned to the culture that was an important point of reference for the original version of the text.