Notes from the draft of Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestras Vidas

Authors’ notes from the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective for the Spanish-language translation of their most famous and groundbreaking book on women’s reproductive health and sexuality, Our Bodies Ourselves, first published in 1972. It is known for being the paramount work written and published on the subject by women, and written specifically for women, in the 20^th century. The notes in this file are specifically for the chapter on Amigas Latinas en Acción pro Salud (ALAS), a community organization founded specifically for the health of women of Latin American in Boston. This organization was essential in the cultural and linguistic adaption of the original English-language book. Although these notes date from the 1980s, the final version of the book was not published until the year 2000, due to a long editorial process involving the input of numerous stakeholders.

The notes are handwritten on pieces of paper from a legal pad, which remain in good condition, and there seems to be evidenced of multiple authors and editors given the different media (pens, permanent markers, etc.) with which the notes were written. The notes seem to contain information about myths surrounding sexual health. They were also written at different points in time, with different notes written into the margins which include the date on which they were added, with some on the same page being dated a year apart. The margins contain comments and annotations both from the original author of the notes and from an outside source. The text is written in both Spanish and English, detailing the translation process. From these draft notes, we see how translations change from literal to cultural and contextual, with notes regarding the phrasing of certain passages.