Republic of Moldova presents Georgia Southern foreign languages faculty member with medal
Olga Amarie stands in front of a monument of Alexie Mateevici with Ioan Găină, whose works she translated.
“I am very honored to receive such a distinction from my country,” Amarie said. “Even though my main area of research is 20th century French literature and film, I find myself contemplating translation activities very often. It is something that I do to stay connected with the culture that I was born in far across the Atlantic ocean.”
The medal, which is awarded for both literary and religious studies, is named for Mateevici (1888-1917), a poet, Greek language teacher and priest from eastern Bessarabia, which was once part of the Russian Empire but is now part of the Republic of Moldova.
Amarie’s award was based on collaborations with Rosemary Lloyd, Ph.D., Emanuel Mickel, Ph.D., Marie-Line Brunet, Ph.D., and Michael Dow, Ph.D., who assisted with numerous works, including books and graphical poems.
This year, she translated another Romanian book from Romanian into English with assistance from Georgia Southern English major Margaret
Geddy, and they are both currently looking for a publisher in the United States.
“My next challenge in translation will be poetry, translating free-verse poems and rhymes,” Amarie said. “I do not know if I am ready though for the intricate structures of poetry.”
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