Father surprises daughter with translation of her thesis.
When I pulled my daughter's name, Christina Hörst (MA '10), for our Christmas 2017 gift exchange, I recognized I now had fresh motivation to pull a stalled project off the shelf. Her thesis was originally in French, as the title makes obvious: Discours Protestant et Parcours Féminin dans Delphine (1802) de Madame de Staël.
Soon after her graduation, I had committed myself to secretly translate its 114 pages into English as a gift to her and her family. Yet, during the ensuing eight years, I had managed to sporadically complete only 34 pages. I realized I could not complete it by Christmas, but I did hatch a plan to give her a gift of coupons for a day with me in Paris (Ontario!) the following summer. My scheme was that this would include her "finding" the translated thesis in a bookstore. And so, I re-awakened my project with renewed vigour. Thankfully, online translation aids had strengthened considerably and, combined with my moderate French language capability, I was able to finish it by April.
But then: the challenge of getting it printed as similarly to the original as possible. Initial inquiry in my community (Stratford) was fruitless, so I explored the University website and decided to contact the Director of Print + Retail Solutions, Ryan Jacobs. His response was immediate and enthusiastic and, after some clarifying questions, I was thrilled that the University’s New Media Services team would gladly help me complete my project. It felt even more special when Paula-Ann Zahra became the point person on my file, informing me that she had handled Christina’s original thesis!
My excitement deepened when I made an exploratory trip to Paris in order to confirm the details I had listed in Christina’s coupons: the Paris Bakery carried scrumptious items; the Cambridge-Paris bike trail would be perfect; Stillwaters Restaurant would be great. But, most importantly, Roy Skuce of Green Heron Books responded heartily when I explained my scheme.
By June, Paula had the thesis in hand! Unfortunately, our summer schedules were such that August 25 was the earliest date that suited Christina and me. Summer 2018 became one which held a great deal of anticipation!
Sometimes your best-laid plans just do not pan out as expected. This was not one of those times! The day unfolded perfectly: donut and apple fritter; 20 kms of leisurely biking; a tasty meal, during which we conversed entirely in French. And then: Green Heron Books!
Roy had the thesis displayed on a table in the middle of the store. After some browsing, I steered Christina in its direction. “What the heck?!” At first her bilingual brain did not notice the language and she was confused about how a copy of her thesis could end up there. “But it’s in English…??” then passed her lips and she began exploring it in more detail, eventually reading the Translator’s Note which included: “This labour of love is joyously dedicated to my beloved and talented first-born, Christina.”
She was happy. So was I. Mission accomplished!
