Patrick Leahy

Date of Award

5-2008

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Campus-Only Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Liberal Studies

Advisor

Kathleen N. March

Second Committee Member

James J. Troiano

Third Committee Member

Thomas J. Mikotowicz

Abstract

This project is a translation of two short stories provided by award-winning Honduran author Eduardo Bähr which attempts to bring his voice and, by extension, the voice of the Honduran people to a wider audience. In doing so, it also attempts to raise awareness of a culture that many people outside of Central America know little about and to a lesser extent, it explores how one Honduran is contributing to the slowly growing culture of this nation. It does not offer any criticism of the writing style, nor of the culture itself, and the supporting material that is included with the texts exists only to clarify their relevance to the cultural studies program that concludes with this project. The first of the translations is "The Boy from Flower Mountain", which is largely a meditation on nature written from the perspective of a deaf child living in the Tolupan indigenous community in the mountains of Honduras. The second is "One-Horse Town", a fictional story about an equally isolated but modernized town which Bähr describes as "an allegory about the poverty in my country". Also included is the translator's reflection on the nature of the translation process, and why certain choices were made in order to keep the text as accessible as possible. The translator would like to acknowledge and thank Eduardo Bähr for his kindness and willingness to assist with this project, and would welcome the opportunity to explore his writings further.

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