Marco Micone, écrivain-traducteur québécois? : une étude sociographique de ses transitions littéraires
The present research focuses on Marco Micone, a writer-translator of Italian origins who migrated to Montreal in 1958. His literary production has been the subject of numerous studies, the vast majority of which concern his original writings and, to a lesser extent, his self-translations. His translation-adaptations for the theatre, on the other hand, have been largely neglected. Our research is aimed at filling this gap and suggests exploring Micone’s literary and professional trajectory from a sociological standpoint. Accordingly, the adoption of the sociographical approach (Bourdieu, 1992) sheds light on 1) the interdependence between Micone’s texts (both originals and translations) and the contexts in which they have been conceived; 2) the articulation between Micone’s original contributions, translations and self-translations. Insofar as these different practices of writing have succeeded - and barely overlapped - each other in time, we attach special importance to the transitions marking the passage from one type of writing to another. To do this, we propose a diachronic rereading of Micone’s works, from 1982 to 2008, by situating them in relation to the literary and social fields in which they were inscribed. In addition to the two objectives mentioned above, this approach aims to better understand the habitus of this plurilingual writer-translator, his position in the social and literary fields as well as his complex relationship with literary elites. Ultimately, two original findings emerge from this analysis: his apparent linguistic and literary insecurity – related to a possible ill-assured position within the literary field – as well as his marked taste for experimentation and linguistic hybridity. These two aspects, which cross the whole of his trajectory and give it meaning, originate from Micone's social, political and aesthetic affinities as well as from the status of "migrant writer" that was attached to him very early in his career. By integrating a social dimension to migration literature, our case study frees the latter from any romantic interpretation and highlights the tight eligibility criteria which characterize it and influence writers’ cultural production. From a translational point of view, the contribution of our thesis is twofold. First, it demonstrates that self-translation, like translation, can be a way of integrating a new literary national field. Secondly, this study shows that the habitus of a migrant writer-translator, influenced by numerous variables, can be hybrid and more malleable, as it derives from the coexistence of different professions, languages and cultures. Keywords: Marco Micone, sociology of translation, sociographical approach, linguistic hybridity, migration literature, translation-adaptation, self-translation, Québécois theatre.
Marco Micone Sociology of translation Sociographical approach Linguistic hybridity Migration literature Translation-adaptation Self-translation Québécois theatre