Centre for Irish Studies Newsletter

Nuachtlitir Ionad an Léinn Éireannaigh 

Issue 2 Autumn 2005

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Interview with Félix Varona

Nessa: And what has your research been focused on to date?
Félix: I have conducted research in several fields such as pedagogy, general and applied linguistics, philology, stylistics and translation theory and techniques. My main topic nevertheless has been the life and works of José Martí, Cuba’s national hero. For many years I have been making inroads into the translations he did, not only of many 19th century American poets, but also of authors from other places and epochs, which took me to an outstanding Irish poet, Thomas Moore.

Nessa: And so was this how you become interested in Irish Studies?
Félix: Among the translations done by Martí, the most famous is perhaps that of Thomas Moore’s Lalla Rookh. It is known that Martí finished the manuscript, but it was never delivered to the corresponding editorial house. In what can be considered his literary will, he makes a prominent reference to that translation, nevertheless, nothing is known about the work and the loss has been the concern of many people since the very beginning of the 20th century. I found this topic so interesting that I planned to research it and write a book about it. The project dealt with the life and works of Moore, his oriental romance, the historical and literary context that originated it, the translation of the volume done by Martí and its uncertain destiny, among the most important topics. The Cuban Book Institute distinguished the project with a Dador, one of the most important national literary prizes granted in the country. Once written, the book showed that Marti’s translation was not completely lost.
The research work made me reach another conclusion: the relationship between our national hero and Ireland goes much further than the lost translation of Moore’s romance and the wonderful essay he wrote about Oscar Wilde. In his US chronicles, Martí not only refers to the Irish people, their struggle, their history and the Irish diaspora in the States, but also provides important characterizations of outstanding Irish historical figures such as Parnell, O’Connell and Davitt. These facts and many others took me to plan another book. This time the project was awarded a visiting research fellowship at the Arts Faculty of the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Nessa: Have you been to Ireland before?
Félix: I have never been to Ireland. Now I am greatly interested in this country, its people and its culture. I would be very glad if I found out that Martí’s life and works have had any kind of reception on this island. The visiting fellowship provides me with the necessary conditions to accomplish an important part of what I now consider my topic, ’The Irish element in the shaping of the Cuban nation’. In my opinion, little is known about what Cuba owes to Ireland. So I am deeply grateful to everybody at NUI, Galway, and I will be very happy to continue to work on that topic in the future.

Nessa: What are you hoping to work on during your stay in Galway?
Félix: While in Galway, I intend to finish my Martí book and find out whether there is enough information for a ’Martí-in-Ireland’ project. I am also interested in knowing more about Thomas Moore’s life and works and in finding out whether there is any possibility to take a tailored PhD program at some point. I would also like to teach or lecture on the historical relationship between Ireland and Cuba, Martí’s life and works, the history and literature of Cuba, the Spanish language or any other subject dealing with my expertise.

Many thanks to Félix who kindly took the time to complete this interview via email before his arrival to the Centre for Irish Studies. We wish him the very best in his research in Galway, and are looking forward very much to hearing more about the work of Jose Martí and the Cuban-Irish connection. Muchas gracias, Félix!

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