Releasing on April 6th 2021, Elzbieta Cherezinska’s The Widow Queen is the epic story of a Polish queen whose life and name were all but forgotten until now.
The bold one, they call her—too bold for most. To her father, the great duke of Poland, Swietoslawa and her two sisters represent three chances for an alliance. Three marriages on which to build his empire.
But Swietoslawa refuses to be simply a pawn in her father’s schemes; she seeks a throne of her own, with no husband by her side. The gods may grant her wish, but crowns sit heavy, and power is a sword that cuts both ways.
In conversation are Elzbieta Cherezinska, the author of The Widow Queen, and Maya Zakrzewska-Pim, who translated the Polish novel!
Why is it important to you to tell this story?
El: It’s the story of a real woman who lived a thousand years ago. She sailed across the sea as a teenager to begin a new life. Later, she travelled hundreds of miles by boat and on horseback. She had children, she grieved those she loved, and she lost her power, but she stubbornly fought to win it back. Passion was her constant companion: she loved, she hated, and she suffered. She learned from her own mistakes, and she learned from the mistakes of others. She built. Świętosława cannot be described in merely a few words, she eludes conventional definitions. Fate linked her to the greatest leaders of her time. Songs were written about their adventures and about her life, but in the end, the Scandinavian sagas made her a villain. I wanted to strip away this image of her, like you’d strip away worn paint from a wall. I wanted to reveal the glittering and colourful fresco that lay beneath.
What did you think when you found out your work would be translated to English?
El: I was excited. When I built Świętosława’s character, I decided to make her ambitious, so she is constantly competing with her brother, Bolesław Chrobry. As if they are always vying for the same prize. When I heard that her story was to be translated into English, I thought: “Bolz! The Bold One wins again!”
How did you become interested in translating novels?
Maya: My mother was a translator, working in Polish and English, so translating between the two has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Whenever she worked from home, she would often ask my opinion on this word or that phrase, instilling in me an awareness of, and love for, both languages. I used to read voraciously as a child, and while I did not have concrete ambitions to become a translator then, I knew that if I ever did then I would want to work on novels. What I’ve always found fascinating about language is its power to build whole worlds and bring people to life. When combined with imagination, language is so much more than just a tool for communication and having the opportunity to translate novels has given me the wonderful chance of exploring its potential in that capacity.
What makes The Widow Queen stand out to you as a translator?
Maya: I think the most striking thing about The Widow Queen is its protagonist, Świętosława, and the simultaneous uniqueness and universality of her story. On the one hand, in terms of the events in her life, she is obviously one of a kind. Her Polish roots might make it seem that her story is most relevant to Polish audiences and those interested in Poland’s history. However, all the historical details of the narrative position it in what is an unfamiliar world for any modern reader, be they Polish or American, and her story is also about her relationships – with herself and with others. This is something that transcends time, countries and cultures, which I think is what can make this very historically-grounded novel appealing to anyone and everyone.
What is the process like translating an entire novel from Polish to English?
Maya: It is so many things: challenging, exciting, difficult, fascinating, tiring, and, above all, immensely rewarding (at least, it has been for me!). I find that I learn something (usually many things) new with every translation I do, in terms of language and how it works and how best to use it, and, of course, about the world of the novel itself.
Do you feel a connection to Świętosława or any other characters in the book?
Maya: As much as I would like to say I feel a connection to Świętosława since I greatly admire her character, her boldness and her courage, I think I’d have to say I identify most with Astrid. She is quieter, more shy, less brash, but she is still as stubborn and determined as a person can be, which is definitely a trait we share!
Maya, imagine that I am Astrid, Świętosława’s sister, and an excellent helmswoman. I will take you safely to wherever you wish to go. What course will you set? Which of the places in the novel would you most like to see?
Maya: I would set a course for Sigtuna. It was the only place where Świętosława experiences some peace. Sigtuna is where finds herself in the role of a mother, where she learns to rule as an independent queen, and where lets herself be in love completely, casting politics aside, even if only for a brief time. I’ve always seen it as the place in which her story truly began, where we see her finally become the woman that we know she will eventually grow into from the very first chapter. And it’s the place in which she casts the dice that determine much of her later life.
What’s next for Świętosława’s story?
El: The Queen’s Son, born in the final scene of The Widow Queen, heralds a new chapter in Świętosława’s story. Before this moment, she was someone’s wife, daughter, or sister, but after it, she has “her” son. That is not to say that her life will be any more peaceful – quite the opposite. The second volume, The Last Crown, is full of tension as all the knots that fate has tied begin to tighten.
What’s the top reason why English-speakers should read more translated fiction?
El: Humanity, or global society, is not monolithic. It comprises many different cultures. Even if we being to know each other by our differences, intuitively, we quickly begin to see what we share. The bond which binds together every community is its shared history, including the history that transcends the tangible and measurable past, the history which is anchored in myth. To truly know another culture, we must reach to its founding myths to learn what historical and spiritual context influenced it, and how these myths reach into the present to touch us today. The English-speaking world dominates the global society not through conquest, but because it is attractive in its unity. The worlds of other languages reach for English as their second or third tongue as a tool to allow them to participate in global culture. But these worlds remain different. When we share our stories with you, we invite you to see our worlds so we might show you how much we have in common. In The Widow Queen, I wanted to depict Świętosława in a different light. Books offer us the opportunity to see the world from a new perspective, to re-evaluate the figures we think we know from existing descriptions but who have never had their stories told. All of this will allow us to understand one another better.
Do you have any suggestions for how future translators and writers can work together to create the best product possible?
Maya: I think communication is crucial, and it has been immensely helpful to be able to ask El to clarify things or to provide some more context when my (severely lacking!) historical knowledge wasn’t quite enough.
Were there any elements of The Widow Queen that changed in translation? Did you work with your translator to change any of the text from Polish to English?
El: Oh yes! Lindsey suggested editing the beginning of the book, and as a result a large part of the opening episode, The Prince of Forest Glades, has been cut. It features many characters who fail to reappear in The Widow Queen – mainly because the hero kills them off. It was the story of Mieszko, Świętosława’s father: how he rose to power and how he left his seven pagan wives to convert to Christianity and marry only one woman. It was an important story for me and for my Polish readers because we are still having conversations about what happened a thousand years ago – that is, about how Poland became a Christian country. Our scholars don’t have one irrefutable version, however, so a number of parallel narratives exist. I wanted to add my voice to the discussion, especially since Świętosława’s name can mean “holy fame” or “the one who praises holiness.” Often, when I sign the book for my readers, I write: “A story of a woman whose only holy characteristic was her name.”
When will The Last Crown be published in English translation? I loved the The Widow Queen