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Keywords

archipelago, eco-translation, indirect translation, José Martí, literary relations between Cuba and the Philippines

Abstract

This paper examines and translates five archipelagic poems by José Martí using the approaches of indirect translation and eco-translation. Through selected works from the collection Versos Libres (1913), Martí’s poetry is situated within the intercolonial relations between Cuba and the Philippines—two nations that underwent similar colonial experiences and share a strong tradition of anti-imperialist struggle. As a poet and revolutionary, Martí played a crucial role in Cuba’s liberation from the Spanish Empire. The selected and translated poems tulang “Midnight” (“Hatinggabi”), “Famous Island” (“Tanyag na Isla”), “Like Palm Trees Born in the Sand” (“Tulad ng mga Palmang Sumibol sa Buhangin”), “I Hate the Sea” (“Namumuhi Ako sa Dagat”), at “Sad Sunday” (“Malungkot na Linggo”). These works not only contain maritime and archipelagic imagery but also open alternative ways of understanding the relationships between humans, other living beings, and the world. The translated poems preserve the richness of the Filipino language’s texture, particularly the flow and nuances of the poems. Furthermore, in the spirit of eco-translation, the complex relationship between the poems’ personae and their ecological and social environments emerges, where nature is not merely a backdrop but an active participant in the anti-colonial discourse. This paper also advocates for the potential of archipelagic translation as a form of navigation across multiple, diverse, yet interconnected languages.

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