poetic writing as a way to philosophize. about the translation and adaptation to the spanish-speaking world of matthew lipman’s novel, suki

Abstract

What I propose to present with this text are some few observations and reflections, some of them even a bit marginal to a much more extensive work I have been developing in the last six years: the translation and cultural adaptation for the Spanish-speaking world of Matthew Lipman’s philosophical novel, Suki, and its corresponding support manual for teachers entitled: Writing: How and why? First of all, I will clarify the origin and the characteristics of this translation and cultural adaptation work, to show some of the criteria I elaborate as developing my work. Then I will offer some writing experiences with children and young people that served me as a reference point for my reflections on the philosophical dimensions of the act of writing. What is essential in the effort to generate interest in others and their skills to develop a poetic composition, is often to help them to express themselves in simple, but evocative terms. I will conclude with some general reflections, inspired by Matthew Lipman, on the relationship between philosophical thinking and writing poetry. In the work of adapting the manual Writing: How and why? I made a very broad compilation of poems by great authors of many Latin American countries. There are poems by authors such as Miguel Hernández, Antonio Machado and Federico Garcia Lorca, and others ( from Spain), the Mexican Octavio Paz, the Nicaraguan Rubén Darío, the Peruvian Cesar Vallejo, Pablo Neruda of Chile, or even songs from the Panamanian Rubén blades, the Cuban Silvio Rodriguez, the Argentinean Piero and even from the Brazilian Vinicius de Moraes. But I also included poems written by children of my country.