August Wilson; drama; slavery; Pittsburgh; capitalism; African American experience; early 20th century; transe; VNA; CIRTI
Abstract :
[en] The action takes place in Aunt Ester's house 1839 Wylie Avenue, Hill District, Pittsburgh, 1904. Citizen Barlow, a young man recently arrived from Alabama, comes to Aunt Ester to get his soul washed as he feels responsible for the death of a fellow worker accused of a theft he had committed. In a gospel-induced transe he finds himself on board the slave ship Gem of the Ocean and is taken to the City of Bones. At the end of the play he takes over the stick and coat and mission of Solly Two Kings, a former slave and former Underground Railroad conductor, who still resists oppression in all its forms and is murdered by Caesar, the black upholder of white order.
Research Center/Unit :
CIRTI - Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherches en Traduction et en Interprétation - ULiège
Disciplines :
Literature
Translator :
Bada, Valérie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de langues modernes : ling., litt. et trad. > Traduction de l'anglais vers le français
Pagnoulle, Christine ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de langues modernes : ling., litt. et trad. > Département de langues modernes : ling., litt. et trad.
Language :
French
Title :
August Wilson, Gem of the Ocean (name of a slave ship, so not translated)9782846815635
Gem of the Ocean is the last but one play in August Wilson's Pittsbrugh Cycle, ten plays on the ten decades of the 20th century, though the first one in chronological terms. The main obstacle to translating this text meant for the stage was negotiating a French version of the language used by all characters, namely African American vernacular English, which has its own nobility and is a constant reminder of African Americans fighting for dignity and decent living conditions.
