I formicai della lingua

Translating Wole Soyinka's maturity long poem, an Ode in five parts with a high moral and civil resonance, was a challenge on several levels. This introduction by the curator and translator of the volume, which besides the "Humanist Ode to Chibok, Leah" includes two more short poems ("No!, He Said" and "Mandela Comes to Leah"), all appearing in translation for the first time, explains the strategies adopted and choices made in rendering the Nobel Laureate's poetry into Italian.