Gina DeCagna on translating Henry David Thoreau

Gina DeCagna


on translating Henry David Thoreau


This is a substitution translation. I took Thoreau’s famous opening lines to Walden and substituted the words for a satirical alternative that highlights the awkwardness of the syntactical structure by contemporary standards.

about the author

about the translator

Gina DeCagna, C’16, is an emerging artist, writer, and editor working across several different media. Since 2012, she has been the founder and editor-in-chief of Symbiosis, a creative community and publication of collaborating artists and writers dedicated to the interrelationship of the visual and literary arts.