International (and Virtual) Translation Day
Here we have more talks and interviews, three to be precise, to celebrate September 30th, International Translation Day (ITD), in this virtual year. To begin with, Belén Santana, who won Spain’s National Translation Award last year with Memorias de una osa polar by Yoko Tawada (Anagrama), and who is also a lecturer at the University of Salamanca, spoke in an interview about the profession, the challenges it presents and the satisfactions it gives. Meanwhile, at La Lumbre bookshop in Madrid, Amaya García Gallego and Pablo Moíño Sánchez, moderated by Mateo P. ...
David Bellos’ Sebald Lecture
One of the upsides of this very turbulent year has been the chance to attend—albeit virtually—a whole series of events and lectures that not everyone would have had access to otherwise. And one of the most inspiring moments has been the Sebald Lecture in Literary Translation, organized by the British Center for Literary Translation together with the British Library and the National Center for Writing. In 2020, it was given by award-winning translator and university professor David Bellos, who wrote Is That A Fish in Your Ear? The Amazing ...
Machine Translation and Literature: Two Close Enemies?
Translator, proofreader and post-editor Rocío Serrano has just written a very interesting, thoroughly researched and highly enlightening article on machine translation and literary texts for Vasos Comunicantes, ACE Traductores’ online journal. Is the future here ...
New Italian Books
Italy has just launched New Italian Books, a great site that promotes Italian literature and culture around the world, in the style of Books from Norway, New Books in German and New Spanish Books. The project has been launched by Treccani with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Centre for Books and Reading, together with the Italian Publishers Association. They publish newssheets, surveys, interviews and analyses on translations of books by Italian authors worldwide. They also offer information on the main book ...
Confined Interviews
I have really negleted this section, when so many things have passed! Just the month on May was extremely eventful. On the 31st, Xavi Ayén interviewed Valentina Alferj, Andrea Camilleri's right-hand woman, for La Vanguardia. He also spoke to Pau Vidal and to me as representatives of his many translators. The interview, which you can read here, came with this wonderful recreation of inspector Montalbano by Marc Pallarès: A few days before that, on the 27th, I spoke with Vasos Comunicantes, the magazine published by ACE Traductores. They have started ...
A Brief Reflection / on Translation Awards
Turkish-into-Spanish translator Rafael Carpintero has recently received the Best Translation Award 2018 at the Estado Crítico Awards for his translation of Sabahattin Ali's Madona con abrigo de piel (Salamandra). And he has written a very insightful (and very funny) article on translation awards, which you can read here (in ...
Juan de Sola Takes Home the Ángel Crespo Award
Juan de Sola has won the XXI Ángel Crespo Translation Award, given out by ACEC, Cedro and the Gremi d’Editors de Catalunya, for his translation of Correspondencia 1914-1922 by Marcel Proust and Jacques Rivière. The book was published last year by La Uña Rota and De Sola was also in charge of the preface and the notes. ...
Happy International Translation Day
Once again, we celebrate International Translation Day on the 30th of September. This year, the International Federation of Translators (FIT) is promoting it with this poster by Italian graphic designer Riccardo d’Urso. And the Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters of Catalonia (APTIC) is also celebrating it on Thursday with a lecture by multi-award-winning translator Dolors Udina, who will talk about the fascinating female authors she has translated, from Jean Rhys to Virginia Woolf. Three cheers for Saint Jerome and many happy returns to translators all ...
So Why Does One Translate?
I have just read an article called ‘¿Que por qué traduzco?’ (So Why Do I Translate?), posted several months ago by renowned Turkish-into-Spanish translator Rafael Carpintero in his blog, El Carpintero Traductor. And I like it, like every thing of his that I have read. And it makes me think of another article, ‘Por qué traduzco’ (Why Do I Translate?), published by renowned English-into-Spanish translator Ismael Attrache in El Trujamán. And I also like it, like every thing of his that I have read. And that’s ...
The Vanguard of Literary Change
'Translators are the vanguard of literary change: we need better recognition', says the illustrious Daniel Hahn in a great article he has written for The Guardian, which you can read here. Last year, Daniel won €25,000 at the International Dublin Literary Award for his translation of A General Theory of Oblivion, by Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa. With half of that money, and the backing of the Society of Authors’ Translators Association (TA) and The British Council, he funded an award designed to recognise a great literary translation debut ...
Anthea Bell, Grande Dame of Translation
If you only read one interview with a translator this year, let it be this one by Claire Armitstead, who speaks to the charming Anthea Bell. It was published in The Guardian in 2013. Thoroughly ...
The First Book I’m Reading This Year
Here I am, about to start reading La voce del testo, by Franca Cavagnoli (Feltrinelli). La #primeralecturadelaño, "La voce del testo", de Franca Cavagnoli, habla de traducción. Una antigua recomendación de @Malapartiana. pic.twitter.com/tUOvkaD8yP — Carlos Mayor (@CarlosMayor) January 3, ...
Is David Pearson the Coolest Book Cover Designer in the World?
I have a feeling that David Pearson is the coolest book cover designer in the whole wide world. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and check out his wonderful ...
The Fables of Saint Jerome
Last Friday, on the eve of the feast of Saint Jerome of Stridon, El País published an excellent article by Aurelio Major titled 'Fábulas de san Jerónimo'. In it, the writer and translator says: 'Translating is transferring, transporting tradition, interpreting, migrating tirelessly, because the only nation is the very many books, transformed, re-read, renovated with every new version'. And today, Tuesday, that very same newspaper has published a piece by Paula Corroto, titled 'Los personajes invisibles de la literatura', in which (under a somewhat alarming subheading) she interviews Miguel Sáenz, ...
Many Happy Returns to All Translators
Thanks to the International Federation of Translators (FIT), this is the first year that the United Nations recognize the 30th of September as International Translation Day, thus increasing its impact. The celebration was first held in 1953 on the festivity of Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin and is considered the patron saint of translators. FIT has chosen translation and diversity as the theme for 2017 and has come up with a campaign around this image: In Spain, the Ministry for Culture has launched ...
Writers and Translators Honoured by the Premio Strega Europeo
And here’s the shortlist for Italy's Premio Strega Europeo 2017, which gives € 3,000 to the winning author and, starting this year, also € 1,500 to their translator: Mathias Enard, Bussola (e/o), translated by Yasmina Melaouah; Jenny Erpenbeck, Voci del verbo andare (Sellerio), translated by Ada Vigliani; Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Tutto quello che non ricordo (Iperborea), translated by Alessandro Bassini; László Krasznahorkai, Satantango (Bompiani), translated by Dora Várnai, and Ali Smith, L’una e l’altra (Sur), translated by Federica Aceto. Congratulations to all ten! Los finalistas del Premio Strega Europeo 2017. ...