Jadwiga Maurizio – uznana, nieznana, znajoma. Tłumaczka Lema

Abstract

The list of translators who promoted Polish literature in Francoist Spain between 1939 and 1975 includes several dozen names. Many of them have remained anonymous. It is difficult to determine who they were and what kind of relationship they had with the Polish language, especially if we take into consideration that most of them were Spanish. Jadwiga Maurizio is one of the very few Polish women in that group. Spanish readers know her above all as Stanisław Lem’s translator. Despite the popularity of her work, she remains virtually unknown. She was undoubtedly a very exceptional yet modest woman. There is a lot to say about her translation work: the language she translated from, the strategies she used to deal with neologism and wordplay, the people who revised her translations. This paper aims at bringing Jadwiga Maurizio out of the shadows to reveal her contribution to the translation of Polish literature. For this purpose, I will analyze the bibliography of books she translated in terms of the authors and editorial policy. I will try to figure out how she started to translate and what her cooperation with the publishing house looked like. I will also consider whether the quality of her translation had any influence on the popularity of Stanisław Lem in Spain. Finally, I will mention those facts from her private life that might have been related to her professional activity.