Mozambique: France awards Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters to Moreira Chonguiça
File photo
The classic Mozambican book ‘Sleepwalking Land’ will soon be available in Mandarin, a language spoken by 1.4 billion people, after an agreement was reached between the author, Mia Couto, and the several entities involved in the publishing his work.
Two other iconic works by the renowned Mozambican writer – ‘Confession of the Lioness’ and ‘Jerusalem’ – will offer Chinese lovers of literature a sample of the socio-cultural reality of Mozambique.
In his recent visit to China to discuss the publishing deal, Couto was in touch with AIM and offered his impression of the literary connection between Mozambique and China.
“I think literature is a good beginning to show that Mozambique is more than this stereotype, this construction that we make out of ‘the other’. Literature speaks of real people, of the diversity that exists in Mozambique, because we are a country. Of course ours does not compare in size with China, but being a country that is very large, and houses several ethnic groups, several cultures, several languages – Mozambique is all of that,” Couto said.
From the writer’s point of view, literature goes much deeper and tells stories of people, as well as offering a more intimate view of place.
With 34 published works behind him, Couto says that seeing ‘Sleepwalking Land’ translated into Mandarin feels like almost a dream, because he had never imagined that his work might find interest in China, and that that interest would suffice to publish the book there.
According to the author, the choice of works was made by the publisher in partnership with his literary agent, who wanted to establish a symbiosis between the most recent books, in this case ‘Jerusalem’ (2009) and ‘Confession of the Lioness’ (2012), but without leaving out the classic 224-page ‘Sleepwalking Land’, first published in 1992 and reissued in 2006.
‘Sleepwalking Land’ is in this collection because it is a milestone in his literary career and his most translated and most awarded work , hence the Chinese side’s interest that the novel serve as a pillar in this exchange.
Mia Couto said that the Ngungunhana trilogy, about the emperor who ruled the southern part of Mozambique until the end of the 19th century, is already in the process of being translated for subsequent publication, and a children’s story still to be edited will also be published.
Leave a Reply
Be the First to Comment!
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You must be logged in to post a comment.