2 May 2021

Translating te reo into Italian

From Standing Room Only, 2:49 pm on 2 May 2021
Antonella Sarti Evans

Antonella Sarti Evans Photo: supplied

History is being made with a new collection of contemporary Māori women's poetry.    Alongside the reo and English versions, the poems have been translated into Italian, 

Translation is a delicate and nuanced task.   Get it wrong and it changes not just the words but the whole meaning of the original piece.

But Antonella Sarti Evans has 25 years experience translating works by New Zealand authors - including Hone Tuwhare, Janet Frame and Patricia Grace - for Italian audiences.

The new collection of translated poems by Aotearoa and Cook Island Maaori is called Matariki and it's published by a company in Rome.

Lynn Freeman talks with Antonella Sarti Evans, and invites her to read one of the poems.

Matariki, Sciame di Stelle (constellation swarm of stars): Poetesse Māori Contemporanee is translated by Antonella Sarti and published by Edizioni Ensemble, Rome.