Translated from the Night

One of the greatest poets of the twentieth-century, Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo published his masterpiece Translated from the Night in Malagasy in 1932. This is the complete English translation of that renowned collection of poems.

Translated from the Night is Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo’s most memorable collection of poetry. Considered Africa’s first modern poet, Rabearivelo was hailed as a pure surrealist and remains one of the most enigmatic and influential poets of his generation.

Translated from the French by Robert Ziller.

Author Biography

Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, born Joseph-Casimir Rabearivelo, was a prolific Malagasy poet, novelist, and translator born in Antananarivo, Madagascar between 1901 and 1903.

He was amongst the first generation to be born under French colonial rule in Madagascar, resulting in the repression and impoverishment of Rabearivelo’s family. As such, Rabearivelo suffered academically and left school early in 1915. In 1924, Rabearivelo began his life-long role as a proofreader for the Imerina Printing Press. In the same year, he published his first collection of poems, The Cup of Ashes, and translated twelve Malagasy-language poems into French. This introduced him to Antananarivo’s prestigious literary circles in which he became a leading figure of poetry, prose, plays, and translations.

He founded the literary journal New Progress in 1931 aiming to promote the circulation of Malagasy-language poetry. Over his career, he published seven volumes of poetry, with his most acclaimed collection, Translation of the Night (1932) translated into French in 1935 and later into English in 2007.

Rabearivelo died in 1937.

Translated from the French by Robert Ziller.

Robert Ziller is an artist, poet, translator, singer, and curator. As well as performing with the bands Bingo Quixote and Media Circus Extravaganza, his art has appeared in over 100 exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the U.S.