Last year, History, Literature, and the Arts Professor Martha Kuhlman, Ph.D., translated the graphic memoir Bald from Czech to English. Written by Tereza Čechová and illustrated by Štěpánka Jislová, the book is an autobiographical recount of a young woman whose sense of self is impacted by an alopecia diagnosis. With Bald making its publishing debut in America this past fall, Bryant News chatted with Kuhlman about her involvement in the project and the story’s message for readers. 

How did you become involved with the translation of Bald? 

In 2017, I went to Prague for a comics festival, and there were these two women (Tereza Čechová and Štěpánka Jislová) who were running something called Laydeez do Comics. They had an exhibit of work by female cartoonists, and I thought, ‘Wow, that's really unique — I’ve never seen an exhibit like that before in Czech.’ When I found out that they collaborated on a memoir, I thought ‘I gotta get that.’ I was so excited for them when their book won the top prize in the Czech Republic for best graphic narrative. I asked if they had anyone translating the memoir and, when they said no, I decided to work on the project. I collaborated with Čechová on the translation over Zoom, and we would talk about the slang, what would fit, what sounded natural, and ultimately worked on that over six months. We then put together a proposal, and I began shopping it around to publishers. 

You ended up finding a home for Bald with Graphic Mundi, an imprint of Penn State University Press. Why is this significant?  

Penn State University Press publishes a lot of work in the field of graphic medicine, which is an entire field within comic studies. Graphic medicine seeks to humanize and explain what people are going through from the patient's point of view and doctor's point of view. Medical schools are increasingly including courses in graphic medicine to help doctors communicate better with their patients and explain what's happening to them. This book does that very effectively. It gives you the science but also explains alopecia from a very personal perspective. You get to know Čechová, her personality, and how hair loss has affected her identity as a woman.  

When you first picked up Bald, what was it about the story that resonated with you?  

I felt like I identified with the author's point of view. She talks about growing up and not being a “girly-girl” and rebelling against gender role expectations. She was very honest and vulnerable, and I respected that. She also has this perfectionist streak, and I have the same kind of mentality, so I really identified with her. Having this perfectionist streak becomes especially tough for her when she loses her hair. She feels exposed and doesn't know how to deal with her image in public. Instead of hiding her condition, she writes an essay online about her experience with alopecia and discovers a supportive community. Her story speaks to people who are suffering from alopecia — but is also about her self-image as a woman, how hair loss has affected her perspective, and how people interact with her. 

You mention that the book navigates her identity as a woman and how that's affected by her hair loss. Can you discuss the significance of hair — especially as it relates to women?  

Hair is so central to women's identity, and there are a few pages in the book that address the symbolism of hair. It tends to connote health, power, desirability. As a woman, if you don't have hair, then it's kind of an existential crisis: How do you deal with it? Čechová recounts all the things she did: she tried different cures, she tried different wigs, and ultimately, she decided she wouldn’t wear wigs because they weren't comfortable, and she wanted to be her authentic self. That’s a process she had to go through to understand who she is in the world. And the story speaks to everyone — it makes you think about how you deal with self-image and understand yourself. 

Now, Bald isn’t the only project you’ve been working on. Tell us about the other comic you have been translating. 

Štěpánka Jislová, the artist of Bald, asked me to translate a longer, more involved memoir, which I took on last summer. It had a lot of references to psychology, so I got some help from Professor of Psychology and Psychology Department Chair Heather Pond Lacey, Ph.D., as well as Associate Professor of Communication and Language Studies Kristen Berkos, Ph.D. The book is called Heart Core and is about relationships, dating, and how dysfunctional and crazy the dating scene is. It's also a very brave book because it deals with sexual violence. In the United States, we've been talking about #MeToo and domestic violence for a while, but it wasn't in the public consciousness in the Czech Republic in the same way. That book is now at the proof stage; I’m looking forward to seeing it in print by May 1.