100 Refutations | Guatemala | Song Lyrics | Spanish
April, 2018Rebeca Eunice Vargas (Rebeca Lane) was born in Guatemala City in 1984. She's a prolific poet and musician heavily influenced by her experiences as a political and human rights activist. As a poet, Lane has been published in several magazines in Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, and maintains a blog called Mujeres de bolsa grande y zapatos bajos. Lane’s poetry led her to spoken word, and through her work as a collaborator in Da-Radio (an online hip-hop radio station) she joined the hip-hop collective Última Dosis. In 2012, she began recording rap songs, singing with Última Dosis and as a soloist. In 2013, she began touring Central America and Mexico after the release of her EP Canto. Lane has performed at important music and art festivals throughout Latin America, as well as festivals, seminars, and theatrical events focused on human rights and feminism. She currently performs as a member of the theater and hip-hop crew that created La Eskina (2014), in which the cast uses graffiti, rap, and breakdancing to confront violence against youth in marginalized regions of Guatemala City. Lane is the founder of the movement Somos Guerreras, which strives to create a community of women within hip-hop culture that pushes back against inequality and sexism in the industry. She also runs rap workshops with women and young people, encouraging the use of poetry to express the struggles of the oppressed. In 2014, Lane won first place in the contest Proyecto L, which sought out music supporting freedom of speech, with the song "Cumbia de la Memoria." In this song, Lane discusses the genocide perpetrated by the military government during the war. For more information, please see: http://www.rebecalane.com.
Belgium | French | Song Lyrics
December, 2017For this labor of love, I set ambitious goals: to translate 50 songs, preserving Brel’s meter and rhyme schemes, as well as the essence of his imagery, moods, and caustic humor, without ever being a slave to the original lyrics. That is, I put lyricism and naturalness of phrasing ahead of word-for-word equivalency. I chose a mix of songs that have not been translated before and songs that have poor English versions. I am currently translating all the songs on his famous last album, which he recorded in secret shortly before his death.
- Michele Herman
The Brooklyn Rail welcomes you to our web-exclusive section InTranslation, where we feature unpublished translations of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and dramatic writing. Published since April 2007, InTranslation is a venue for outstanding work in translation and a resource for translators, authors, editors, and publishers seeking to collaborate.
We seek exceptional unpublished English translations from all languages.
Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry: Manuscripts of no longer than 20 pages (double-spaced).
Plays: Manuscripts of no longer than 30 pages (in left-justified format).