CARMELA EULATE SANJURJO, PORTRAIT OF A VERSATILE TRANSLATOR

Abstract

The prolific translator and writer Carmela Eulate Sanjurjo (Puerto Rico, 1871- Barcelona, 1961) was undoubtedly one of the most notable and versatile women translators of the twentieth century in Spain. Poet, novelist, anthologist, historian of women, her name has been erased from the history of translation as well as underestimated by the Hispanic-American literature. Although she was born in Puerto Rico and considered a Latin-American author, Carmela Eulate became a career translator and writer in Barcelona where she lived until her last days. She had a main role within Fernando Maristany’s publishing house, and become one of its most valuable translators. Thanks to her, Arabic and Asian poetry was introduced in Cervantes’ catalogue as well as in the literary Spanish polysystem in the early 20’s. She was also invested to the collection Las mejores poesías (líricas) de los mejores poetas and translated the work of Verlaine, Musset, Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Victor Hugo, Shelley, D’Annunzio, Carducci and Balmont. In accordance with her conservative values, she worked for La Novela Rosa translating romantic novels from English and French before the Spanish Civil War. She was also concerned about children’s education and translated some books for Araluce publishing house. She became very active during the first third of the 20th century but her activity began to decrease by 1940. The aim of this study is to focus on a little known and undervalued facet of La muñeca’s author in order to contribute to feminist historiography in Translation Studies. Her portrait as a woman translator is relevant to improve our knowledge in History of Translation and to understand her work choices within a specific line of authors, novels and poetry.