The poetic descriptions of the prairies around Weyburn and the adventures of a young boy growing up as described in the Canadian literary classic, Who Has Seen the Wind, may find their way into the Polish language, if a translator is able to find a publisher of the work.

Nina Michalak is of Polish descent and is a professional translator, and fell in love with the book penned by Weyburn native W.O. Mitchell as she studied a class to learn about the English language.

While the Toronto-based translator has never visited the prairies, she said in an interview she certainly will pay Weyburn a visit if she is successful in landing a publisher for the translation, so she see first-hand the country that inspired Mitchell's classic.

Michalak first read the book as part of an adult Grade 12 class.

"I fell in love with the novel right away. We were given a couple of topics to approach the book in different ways. One topic was, Is the book a soap opera, because people die and so on. I remember being so offended that the professor would give that topic. It was more like a play to me," she said.

The reasons she would like to translate the book into Polish include the universal themes that Mitchell portrays in the story of the boy growing up.

"My English was then in the crawling stages, yet good enough for me to get enchanted with the beauty of Mitchell's imagery; the themes of life's mysteries, racial and social tensions, and the humour, and the simplicity and poetry of the language. I find the book's themes universal, easily understood by anyone regardless of ethnic background, age or level of education," said Michalak.

In the mid-1980s, W.O. Mitchell came to speak and she attended the event with her husband. She approached him afterwards and asked if he knew if his book had ever been translated into Polish.

"That's when the idea of translating the book was born," she said, adding she has since been in touch with W.O.'s son Orm, who has granted Nina a letter of agreement from the literary estate to proceed with the work. Orm informed her that there are translations of the book into Korean and Italian soon to appear.

Michalak said she doesn't anticipate any difficulties in translating Mitchell's work, other than dealing with idiomatic speeches like the boy's Scottish grandmother; the main problem she's encountered is a financial one.

"I found at least 20 publishers in Poland, but the problem is everyone wants to make money, so the first question is how much money could I make from this translation? Also the fact that I'm here in Canada doesn't help," said Michalak.

To counter this problem, she is planning a trip soon to a book fair in Poland where she will personally meet with Polish publishers to pitch her project.

"There's not much money to be had, so I would have to get somebody excited about the project," she said, adding there is a possibility of a Canada Council grant as it involves a Canadian work.

Michalak works as a freelance translator for many translation agencies in Toronto and has done some books, including translating a book about prominent Polish Canadian and Polish Americans, and for about five years worked with CBC's Radio Canada International doing radio documentaries for the Polish section.