“Rubina’s Secret Journey” is the title of the afterword written by the translator Delfina Sessa and published in the book I Variopinti. Il segreto di Rubina (MIMebù 2024).

An excerpt from the afterword

Rubina’s Secret Journey

by Delfina Sessa

Another secret? In a way, yes. Rubina and the stories told in this book hold the memory of an invisible journey – yet one full of extraordinary powers – which has enabled our heroine and her friends to reach you. Rubina was created by a writer who lives in Finland, a country known to many as the Land of Lakes and the home of Father Christmas. Her story is woven from the words of a little-known language that is as complex as it is fascinating: Finnish. The name of the writer who created her, for example, is Vuokko, which in that language refers to a delightful little colourful flower: the anemone. Strange, isn’t it? And, even more bizarrely, Rubina wasn’t called Rubina at all in the original version, but Tiuku. So why did Tiuku turn into Rubina at the end of her journey?

One day, as the Finnish autumn painted the leaves in a myriad of shades of red and yellow, Tiuku set off on the journey that would bring her here to you. And there, in a land halfway between Tiuku and Rubina, I was there – the translator. Let me introduce myself: my name is Delfina. As it happens, my name, just like that of the author Vuokko, is drawn from the diverse world of nature. A translator filters the text and the culture in which it is steeped to make it understandable to readers who speak another language and live in a different culture. So I immersed myself in the adventures imagined by the author and brought them to you. I’ve explored them through the words, but also through the illustrations that complement them. My work has something magical about it; it starts with analysing the text, interpreting it, and bringing out ideas you didn’t even know you had. When I immerse myself in a text, I never know what will come of it. It’s a challenge that takes time and encourages you to learn new things, just as it does for anyone who reads books. The more you read, the more you learn. And it’s a great pleasure – even a superpower, I’d say. […]

To continue reading the afterword by Delfina Sessa and the fascinating story of Rubina and her superpowers, don’t forget to buy I Variopinti. Il segreto di Rubina.

Delfina Sessa

Delfina Sessa graduated from the Istituto Universitario Orientale in Naples and obtained a PhD in Languages and Translation from the University of Turku in Finland. She has been translating from Finnish for over 20 years and has taught at the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Turku. She is currently a teacher at a secondary school. As a translator, she has worked with leading Italian publishers such as Fabbri, Feltrinelli, Salani and Mondadori.