Maya Angelou's Poetry Translated Into Te Reo

Sunday, 13 October 2024, 7:45 pm
Article: RNZ

Pokere Paewai, Māori issues reporter

A collection of ruri (poems) by Maya Angelou is the latest book to be translated into te reo Māori.

He kupu nā te māia is the 13th te reo book from Kotahi Rau Pukapuka, which aims to eventually translate 100 books into te reo.

Editor Pania Papa said after researching Maya Angelou's poetry, it was easy to see similarities between her life as an African-American woman and the lives of many wāhine Māori.

"Her poetry comes out of a place I think of trauma as well as oppression and the marginalisation of an African-American woman, so a lot of her poems talk about women and families and relationships within families and the complexities within that. To us that seemed to be a good fit for things Māori."

Thirty-four wāhine from Te Panekiretanga o te Reo, the Institute of Excellence in the Māori Language, were chosen to translate and each had the option to choose one or two poems.

That led to a huge variety in style of the translations, with each wahine bringing a whole host of different experiences in their own lives, Papa said.

Many of the wāhine had contributed to the revitalisation of te reo in their communities, she said.

"Often the wahine in this space are perhaps undervalued I would say, and go under the radar because a lot of our wāhine do so much but don't necessarily do it for the accolades and the praise.

"So we have 30 voices transferring their experiences into Maya Angelou's words and I think that's going to be quite beautiful for people to read."

Papa said translating poetry was a much more creative process when compared to translating narrative stories.

Translators needed to draw on their knowledge of kupu whakarite (metaphor) and research every turn of phrase in order to understand the author's intention, she said.

"I find the poetry fun and a little bit more tricky."

As part of the launch of the book, a group of wāhine Māori have turned some of Angelou's work into song, and will perform live at the Wellington Jazz festival.

"It's going to be a beautiful way to kick our book off and launch it with the tones of some beautiful wāhine Māori singers," Papa said.

The show - called Oro Maia - will take place on 19 October at the Opera House.

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