Welcome, friend! You find me reading translated books often and I have always wanted to get insight on how one language can be understood in another. What does the work of a translator look like? What is their process? Babel by R.F. Kuang is a book that thoroughly allowed me ponder translation and most recently, by being on tour for The Curse of the Flores Women by Angélica Lopes, I had the chance to learn from translator Zoë A. Perry.
Zoë Perry has translated the work of several contemporary Brazilian authors, including Emilio Fraia, Ana Paula Maia, Juliana Leite, Clara Drummond, Veronica Stigger, and Carol Bensimon. Her translations have appeared in the Paris Review, the New Yorker, Granta, Astra, n+1, and the New York Times. Perry’s translation of Ana Paula Maia’s Of Cattle and Men was awarded an English PEN grant, and she received a PEN/Heim grant for her translation of Veronica Stigger’s Opisanie swiata (Desription of the World). She is currently based in Miami.
Let’s chat with her about her experiences and this book.
Hi Zoë! Welcome to Armed with A Book. Please tell my new readers a bit about yourself.
Hi Kriti! My name is Zoë Perry and I translate contemporary Brazilian literary fiction into English. I was born and raised in rural southeastern Kentucky, but after several years in Brazil and the UK, I’m now based in Miami, Florida.
How did you become a translator? What drew you specifically to translating works from Brazilian and Portuguese authors? Were there any particular experiences or influences in your life that led you to pursue translation as a career?
I was always a bookworm and am grateful to have grown up surrounded by books and by people who encouraged me to read widely. Always fascinated by language, I studied French and Spanish in college and read a lot in both those languages. I think the frustration I felt when I couldn’t share those books with family or friends was part of what made me consider pursuing translation. My first job after graduation was at a small translation company, where I gained a lot of experience translating non-literary texts, and then in 2012, I attended a literary translation summer school in London led by Margaret Jull Costa. The work I did there resulted in my first book-length translation contract—and the rest is history! As for Portuguese, I did part of my master’s degree in Lisbon, and then in 2007 I moved to Brazil, where I lived for about five years. I left in 2012 but I maintain strong ties there and I use Portuguese daily.
How much interaction do you typically have with the authors whose works you translate? Do you collaborate closely with them? Can you describe a memorable experience working with an author on a translation project?
It really depends! Sometimes I’ve known the author for years and have seen drafts of their work before the book was even finished. Sometimes I only end up speaking to the author after the project is completed. Sometimes an author speaks English well enough that can give feedback, other times they want nothing to do with it. Sometimes the author is dead, and you can’t consult them at all!
Usually, I’ll translate a draft, making a list of questions along the way. After I finish the draft, I’ll send those questions to the author, and we go from there. I think my most unusual working experience was on the book Sevastopol by Emilio Fraia, which is a collection of three interconnected stories. Before the book had even come out in Brazil, I translated one of the stories to be used to pitch it to foreign publishers. The New Yorker liked the story, but said it was too long for the magazine. So, I translated a second, shorter story. After that story was published (the first work of Brazilian fiction ever published in the New Yorker), New Directions acquired the book, and I finally translated the third and final story. In the end it was about three years from translating that first story to publication of the book, with about a year in between each story, and over that period Emilio and I became good friends.
How do you handle situations where there might be ambiguity or multiple interpretations of a text?
A lot of times I’ll first ask my husband (who is Brazilian) just to make sure I’m not unintentionally complicating things! But the best bet is to ask the author directly. In Sevastopol, for example, there was a lot of intentional ambiguity, which wasn’t necessarily difficult to translate, but first I needed to strip everything down and expose all the working parts to then be able to rebuild that ambiguity in English. Sometimes it can feel a bit like I’m pulling the curtains back on all the mystique of a text, but after reading a book several times over in the translation process, there’s not much that can hide.
Can you describe the process of translating this novel? Were there any particular challenges or highlights? The novel explores themes of female oppression and resilience. How did you ensure these themes were conveyed effectively in the translation? Were there any cultural or linguistic nuances that were particularly challenging to translate in The Curse of the Flores Women? How do you think the story and its themes will resonate with readers outside of Brazil?
The Curse of the Flores Women was a really enjoyable project to work on. Angélica writes so well, which makes my job that much easier. Something I particularly like about it is how universal the story is, even though it might not seem that way on the surface. It’s not simply a Brazilian novel trying to find a readership abroad, but a novel that’s set in a fascinating period in the country’s history, in a very particular corner of Brazil that even some Brazilian readers might not be all that familiar with. But these themes of women’s rights, domestic violence, sisterhood, resilience and intergenerational trauma will be familiar to readers from all over the world. It’s a compelling, highly readable novel.
After translating The Curse of the Flores Women, do you already have another book you are excited to translate next?
My friend and colleague, Julia Sanches and I are currently co-translating a really powerful novel by Carol Bensimon called Diorama, which should come out next year. I’ve also got my fingers crossed that I’ll soon find a home for Exemplary Humans by Juliana Leite. It’s a beautiful novel about love, friendship, disappearance, dictatorship, and the reliability of our memories.
How do you see your work evolving after translating each novel? Are there any new directions or themes you’re become interested in exploring?
I don’t think I’ve ever translated a book the same way twice, and with every book I do, I learn new things. Over time the lines between drafts have blurred to where it’s hard to know when one draft finishes, and a new pass begins. I also now start editing much earlier in the initial draft, by chapter or section, mostly so I don’t get to the end and have to face an entire rough draft. As translators don’t always get to choose the books we do, but I have made it a priority to pitch and champion the work of women writers and hope to continue to be able to do so.
ZOE PERRY (c) Bruno Ribeiro
Thank you for reading this post! Learn more about Zoë on her website and connect with her on X.
Who are some of your favorite translators and translated stories? I have so many to share! Next month is Women in Translation Month so stay tuned for some lists. 🙂
Many thanks to OverTheRiverPR for giving me the chance to connect with Zoë. My dreams of interviewing a translator came true! 😀
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