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Lauren Izquierdo Valdés

Translator

What is your name? 

Lauren Izquierdo Valdés

Where are you from?

Cuba. I have always lived here

Are you a full-time translator or are you free-lance?

Freelance. I am a Language teacher in a University in Cuba

My Babelcube Profile can be found at: https://www.babelcube.com/user/lauren-izquierdo

What made you want to become a translator?

The challenge of trying to find similarities and differences between the languages I can translate, It gives me a more complete sense of what is really is the meaning of a word.

What languages do you translate from and into?

I translate from English to Spanish, and Spanish to English. I can speak French, but rarely translate to or from it.

What have you translated?

I have translated from science books to poetry: instruction manuals; magazines and educational research, but mostly novels…

What made you decide on a career as a translator?

When I was studying English literature, I was fascinated by the greatest authors of English culture, and I knew Spanish authors because they are taught in school and I am a passionate reader. After that, I understood that by translating as accurately as possible, I was giving to people, who only know their Mother tongue, the opportunity of knowing the infinite beauty of languages that they cannot read or understand.

If you could give a novice translator a piece of advice, what would it be?

Read more.

Have you ever written something of your own, and if so, in what genre?

I write poetry, always poetry.

Tea or coffee?

Coffee. Black and no sugar. Strong Cuban coffee.

Wine or beer or pop?

Red wine

Favourite musical artist? Do you listen to music when you write, and if so, what?

I do not have a favourite. I like Cuban music from the 40´s and 50´s, I like rock and roll, heavy metal, progressive, and jazz music. When I write I like silence because I can think better about what I want to say, or I just listen to the silence of having nothing to write about.

What do you do when you get writer’s block?

There is always something to tell, and, if not, there is something to describe, and even if not, the absence of inspiration can be written about.

Who is your favourite author?

I do not have one of those; I like Shakespeare, Hemingway, Isabel Allende, William Faulkner, Nicolás Guillén, Lope de Vega, novelists, poets, philosophers….

What was the last book you read?

Professionally: ‘Megan and the Radio One Road Show’. Privately, ‘Lust for Life’ by Irving Stone

What would you like to be, if you weren’t a translator?

A librarian.

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?

My best friend forever: my dear SEPB

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a translator?

Read more in every Language.

Thank you for giving us an insight into your work and life, Lauren Izquierdo. It has been very interesting.

You can read some of Lauren Izquierdo’s work by following the links on this page:

My Books in Spanish

If you would like to ask Lauren about translating your book, (I cannot recommend her to highly – she has done a dozen of mine), please contact her through her Babelcube link above or write to me, and I will forward your contact details to her. You can also contact her directly now on:

Owen.