Poetic Translation and LGBTQIA Representation: Elizabeth Bishop by Paulo Henriques Britto

Abstract

This article aims to reflect on the LGBTQIA representation in translated poetry in Brazil and with this to understand the contribution of the translator in this process. For this we chose to analyze the translations made by the Brazilian translator Paulo Henriques Britto for two poems by American poet Elizabeth Bishop that present homosexual content. In The Shampoo, the poet presents a narrative written at the beginning of her romantic relationship with Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares; and It is Marvelous to Wake up Together is one of the most significant poems written by Bishop when it comes to explicitly homosexual content. In order to reach this article’s goal, a survey of the biographical aspects of the North American poet was made in order to first understand in what historical and social context her work is situated and then to try to understand the relation of Elizabeth Bishop herself to her condition as a woman and lesbian. Next, a content analysis was proposed, based both on Paulo Henriques Britto’s concept of correspondence and on Myrian Diaz-Diocaretz’s studies on the role of the translator in translating poems containing lesbian and/or feminist poetic discourses. With this, it was possible to reflect on the poetic translation from a prism that places it as an instrument of social development within society.