Sabine Huynh

2.1. Early Life and Background

Sabine Huynh was born in 1972 in Saigon, Vietnam, during the tumultuous period of the Vietnam War. Following her birth, she grew up in France, where she spent her formative years. This early experience of displacement and acculturation laid the groundwork for her later explorations of identity, belonging, and exile in her literary works.

2.2. Education

Huynh pursued a rigorous and diverse academic journey across various institutions and disciplines. She studied literature written in the English and Spanish languages, education sciences, and French as a foreign language at the University of Lyon in France. Her education continued at Homerton College, Cambridge in England, where she focused on education sciences and pedagogy. She later undertook studies in linguistics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, where she ultimately earned her PhD in Linguistics. Furthermore, she conducted post-doctoral research in sociolinguistics at the University of Ottawa in Canada.

2.3. Academic and Early Professional Career

Before dedicating herself full-time to writing and literary translation, Sabine Huynh embarked on a career in academia and education. She served as a French Lector at the University of Leicester in England during the 1995-1996 academic year. From 2002 to 2008, she taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in its French department, where her courses covered a range of subjects including composition, French grammar and literature, literary theories, and narratology. In addition to her university positions, Huynh worked for many years as a foreign language teacher in various countries, including France, England, the United States, and Israel.

2.4. Residences

Sabine Huynh's life has been characterized by extensive international living. Beyond her initial upbringing in France, she has resided in England, the United States, Canada, and Israel. She currently maintains her residence in Tel Aviv, Israel, a city that has also influenced some of her literary output.

3.1. Literary Creation

Huynh primarily writes poetry and prose works, including novels, essays, short stories, and diaries, with the majority of her output in French. Her earliest literary publications in English appeared in 2000 in *The Dudley Review*, an annual literary journal showcasing graduate student work from Harvard University. These early English works included "Meta-Morphology" in 2000 and "State of grace" in 2001, the latter of which also featured her own black-and-white photography, depicting scenes such as "Saint-Ives," "Mount Auburn Cemetery," "The biter bitten," "Les jardins de la fontaine," "Régis et Sophie," and the "Empire State Building."

Her poetry collections include notable titles such as *Prendre la mer - 60 sonnets pour les Boat People*, a collection that reflects on historical and humanitarian themes. Other collections are *Herbyers*, *Loin du rivage*, *Parler peau* (featuring artwork by Philippe Agostini), *Les colibris à reculons* (with artwork by Christine Delbecq), and *Kvar lo* (which includes artwork by Caroline François-Rubino and a postface by Philippe Rahmy). She also co-authored *Dans le tournant/Into the Turning*, a bilingual English-French poetry collection with Amy Hollowell, and *Tu amarres les vagues*, a poetry collection with photographs by Louise Imagine and a preface by Isabelle Pariente-Butterlin. A unique work, *Tel Aviv / ville infirme / corps infini* is an artist's book with artwork by André Jolivet, presented as a bilingual French-Hebrew edition translated by Huynh herself and Hillel Halkin. Her collaboration with Roselyne Sibille resulted in the poetry collection *La Migration des papillons*.

Her novels include *Elvis à la radio* and *La Mer et l'enfant*. In prose, she has published *Avec vous ce jour-là - Lettre au poète Allen Ginsberg*, an epistolary essay addressed to poet Allen Ginsberg, whom she met at the age of 21. Other prose works include *La Sirène à la poubelle* (a diary) and *En taxi dans Jérusalem* (with photographs by Anne Collongues).

3.2. Translation Work

Sabine Huynh is an accomplished literary translator, primarily translating English and Hebrew literature into French. Her significant contributions to cross-cultural literary exchange include translating the poetry and prose of Uri Orlev. She has also translated works by numerous other prominent writers and poets, such as Anne Sexton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Seymour Mayne, Dara Barnat, Carla Harryman, Laynie Browne, Karen Alkalay-Gut, Rodger Kamenetz, Ilya Kaminsky, and Katie Farris. Her translation of Ilya Kaminsky's acclaimed collection *Deaf Republic* is particularly noteworthy.

3.3. Awards and Recognition

Huynh's literary and translation efforts have garnered significant critical acclaim and several prestigious awards. In 2015, she was awarded the European Calliope literary prize, presented to promising young Francophone authors by the Cénacle Européen francophone. Her poetry collection *Kvar lo* received France's 2017 CoPo Poetry Prize. In 2022, her translation of Ilya Kaminsky's *Deaf Republic* was honored with the Alain Bosquet Poetry Award. Her novel *Elvis à la radio* received two major accolades in 2023: the Jean-Jacques Rousseau Award and the "Des racines et des mots" Prize for Exile Literature. Earlier in her career, her novel *La Mer et l'enfant* was shortlisted for both the 2014 Emmanuel-Roblès Prize and the 2013 Chambery's First Novel Festival Prize.

4.1. Poetry Collections

• Prendre la mer - 60 sonnets pour les Boat People* (éditions Bruno Doucey, 2024)
• Herbyers* (Backland éditions, 2024)
• Loin du rivage* (éditions de la Margeride, 2022)
• Parler peau*, with artwork by Philippe Agostini (Éditions Æncrages & Co, coll. Voix de chants, 2019)
• Dans le tournant - Into the Turning*, with Amy Hollowell (Christophe Chomant éditeur, 2019)
• Kvar lo*, with artwork by Caroline François-Rubino and a postface by Philippe Rahmy (Éditions Æncrages & Co, coll. Écri(peind)re, 2016)
• Tu amarres les vagues*, with photographs by Louise Imagine and a preface by Isabelle Pariente-Butterlin (Jacques Flament Éditions, coll. Images & Mots, 2016)
• Ville infirme, corps infini* (éditions La Porte, coll. Poésie en voyage, 2014)
• Tel Aviv / ville infirme / corps infini* תל אביב: עיר נכה, גוף אין קץ_{Tel Aviv: ir nekha, guf ein ketz}^Hebrew (artist's book, with artwork by André Jolivet; bilingual French-Hebrew edition, tr.: Sabine Huynh and Hillel Halkin; Voltije éditions, 2014)
• Les Colibris à reculons*, with artwork by Christine Delbecq (Voix d'encre, 2013)
• La Migration des papillons*, with Roselyne Sibille (éditions La Porte, coll. Poésie en voyage, 2013)

4.2. Novels

• Elvis à la radio* (éditions Maurice Nadeau, 2022)
• La Mer et l'enfant* (Galaade éditions, 2013)

4.3. Essays and Prose

• Avec vous ce jour-là - Lettre au poète Allen Ginsberg* (epistolary essay, MaelstrÖm reEvolution, Brussels, 2016)
• La Sirène à la poubelle* (diary, E-fractions, coll. Fugit XXI, 2015)
• En taxi dans Jérusalem*, with photographs by Anne Collongues (publie.net, coll. Horizons, 2014)

4.4. Anthologies and Edited Works

• pas d'ici, pas d'ailleurs* (poetry anthology, éditions Voix d'encre, 2012). This anthology of women poets' modern poetry was directed by Sabine Huynh, alongside Andrée Lacelle, Angèle Paoli, and Aurélie Tourniaire, in collaboration with Terres de Femmes.

5.1. Critical Evaluation

Sabine Huynh's literary works have been the subject of various reviews and critical commentaries in cultural and literary magazines. Her articles and book reviews have appeared in publications such as *The Jerusalem Post*, *La Nouvelle Quinzaine littéraire*, and *Diacritik*. Her novel *Elvis à la radio* notably received praise from literary journalist Alain Nicolas, who, in the December 8, 2022, issue of the French national newspaper *L'Humanité*, described it as "a text like no other, where the material world imposes its poetic presence and gives this amnesiac autobiography an authority that the personal documentary will never have." This commentary underscores the novel's distinctive approach to autobiography and its poetic quality.

5.2. Influence on Literature and Translation

Sabine Huynh's work as a translator, particularly of English and Hebrew literature into French, has positioned her as a significant figure in cross-cultural literary exchange. By translating diverse voices, she contributes to enriching the French literary landscape and fostering greater understanding between different linguistic and cultural traditions. Her own original writings, characterized by their unique perspective shaped by her international background, further contribute to the breadth and depth of contemporary literature.

5.3. Thematic Focus and Social Commentary

Recurring themes in Sabine Huynh's writings often revolve around identity, migration, exile, and the broader human experience. Her poetry collection *Prendre la mer - 60 sonnets pour les Boat People* explicitly addresses the plight of Vietnamese boat people, highlighting a strong humanitarian and social commentary dimension in her work. This focus on the challenges faced by displaced individuals and communities underscores her engagement with social issues and human rights concerns, giving her work a resonance that extends beyond purely aesthetic considerations. Her exploration of selfhood within diverse cultural contexts also brings to light the complexities of belonging and otherness in a globalized world.