Genet in Translation

Following on the post about the translations of Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, The Sharp Side has an interesting piece on the English translations of Genet’s work. It all starts from comparing these two translations:

Description of Darling: height, 5 ft 9 in, weight 165 lbs, oval face, blond hair, blue-green eyes, matt complexion, perfect teeth, straight nose.

(from Our Lady of the Flowers, translated by Bernard Frechtman; Faber and Faber paperback, 1990)

Description of Darling. Height 1 metre, 95. Weight: 75 kilos. Face: oval. Hair: blond. Eyes: blue-green. Colouring: matte. Teeth: perfect. Nose: straight. Penis: length when effect 24 centimetres, circumference: 11 centimetres.

(from Edmund White, Genet; Vintage paperback, 2004, p. 239.)