Francesca Calligaro
Francesca is exploring Patricia Grace’s linguistic hybridity, focusing on ethical translation, orality, and decolonial exchange between Aotearoa and Italy.
PhD Candidate in Literary Translation Studies
School of Languages and Cultures
Qualifications
Master Degree in Modern, Comparative and Postcolonial Literatures - Alma Mater Studiorum Università diBologna 2021-2024
Double Degree in Langues, Littératures et Civilisations étrangères et Régionales - Université Paris-Nanterre 2022-2023
Bachelor Degree in Science of Linguistic Mediation - Università degli Studi di Torino 2018-2021
Profile
My thesis combines creative literary translation and critical analysis to produce an annotated Italian edition of Waiariki (1975), Patricia Grace’s debut short story collection and a landmark of Māori Renaissance. The project explores Grace’s linguistic hybridity — the interplay between English and Te Reo Māori — as a site of identity, resistance, and Indigenous epistemology, and examines the translator’s role as an ethical co-creator. Drawing on translation studies, postcolonial theory, and sociolinguistics, I investigate strategies for translating orality and cultural specificity without domesticating linguistic tension. By situating Grace within New Zealand literary history and Italian reception, my research positions ethical translation as a form of intercultural dialogue, cultural resistance, and engagement with minority literatures.
Supervisors
Professor
School of Languages and Cultures
Publications
Translations
Calligaro, Francesca. “A Way of Talking” by Patricia Grace. Journal of Italian Translation. New York, forthcoming 2026.
Translation Revision
Carson, Anne. Gente nel tempo libero. Edited by Marco Sonzogni. Milan: Biblion, forthcoming 2025. (translation reviser)
Kapil, Bhanu. Come lavare un cuore. Forthcoming 2026. (translation reviser).
Kaphahn, Soph. “Three Poems.” Translation by Imperatrice Bruno. Forthcoming 2026. (translation reviser).
Translation (Other)
Cruciani, Flaminia, and Marco Sonzogni (eds.). Interview with Chinese poet Zhao Lihong, winner of the XXVI Premio Internazionale di Poesia “Montale Fuori di Casa.” June 2025. (translator)