Interview with Sika Fakambi, translator at Angle rouge

Born in Benin into a family and cultural environment marked by a linguistic diversity found in most West African countries, Sika Fakambi has lived in Ouidah, Cotonou, Paris, Dublin, Sydney, Toronto and Montreal, and now lives in Nantes. She has been a literary translator for several years, and very early on became involved in researching authors from the so-called English-speaking world, in order to offer publishers the translation of their books into French. She began by exploring Australian and Canadian literature, and also became interested in authors from so-called English-speaking Africa, as well as poets from North America and the Caribbean. Among her many translations is Zora Neale Hurston's magnificent Mais leurs yeux dardaient sur Dieu, a favourite of Leïla's, as well as Nii Ayikwei Parkes's magnetic investigation Notre quelque part, the poetry of Bell Hooks (Élégies des Appalaches) and Warsan Shire (Où j'apprends à ma mère à donner naissance), and other great and beautiful texts, available from L'Angle rouge.