***World Literature in English Translation

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***World Literature in English Translation

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1labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 12:05 pm

I recently learned that only 3% of books published in the United States are translations, and literature and poetry comprise closer to 0.7%, according to the website Three Percent. In order to help world literature lovers discover and purchase these books, a group of Club Readers have decided to create this thread, a duplicate of which may be created on Reading Globally.

Please add your sources of translated literature and how you discover new titles that have been translated into English. A descriptor at the top of your post, labeling your post as a PUBLISHER, AWARDS LIST, BLOG, etc., will help skimmers. One item to a post please. Comments and discussions are encouraged and do not need a label. ;-)

Thank you, and happy translated reading!

2labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 1:59 pm

RESOURCE

Three Percent

This site provides reviews of books translated into English as well as links to blogs, publishers, cultural institutions, and magazines. It is based at the University of Rochester.

From Their Website

Three Percent launched in the summer of 2007 with the lofty goal of becoming a destination for readers, editors, and translators interested in finding out about modern and contemporary international literature.

The motivating force behind the website is the view that reading literature from other countries is vital to maintaining a vibrant book culture and to increasing the exchange of ideas among cultures. In this age of globalization, one of the best ways to preserve the uniqueness of cultures is through the translation and appreciation of international literary works. To remain among the world’s best educated readers, English speakers must have access to the world’s great literatures. It is a historical truism and will always remain the case that some of the best books ever written were written in a language other than English.

Unfortunately, only about 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation. That is why we have chosen the name Three Percent for this site. And that 3% figure includes all books in translation—in terms of literary fiction and poetry, the number is actually closer to 0.7%. While that figure obviously represents more books than any one person could read in a year, it’s hardly an impressive number.

An even greater shame is that only a fraction of the titles that do make their way into English are covered by the mainstream media. So despite the quality of these books, most translations go virtually unnoticed and never find their audience.

The idealistic hope of Three Percent is to help change that—at least a little bit. By bringing readers information about goings-on in the world of international literature, and by providing reviews and samples of books in translation and those that have yet to be translated, we hope to serve as a resource for readers, students, translators, and editors interested in international literature.

Part of the University of Rochester's translation program and Open Letter, the university’s translation press, Three Percent is a place for students to present their translations and reviews, as well as a place to cultivate the next generation of literary enthusiasts.

3labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:01 pm

PUBLISHER

Archipelago Press

This small press has a subscription service which brings you great books and helps support their nonprofit at the same time. On a personal note, I love the tactile feel of their books. Very well done.

From Their Website

Archipelago Books is a not-for-profit press devoted to publishing excellent translations of classic and contemporary world literature. In our seven years, we have brought out over sixty-five books from nearly twenty languages.

Artistic exchange between cultures is a crucial component of global understanding. It has never been more important for voices from around the world to be heard in this country—less than one percent of new literature published the United States originates outside its borders. By publishing diverse and innovative literary translations we are doing what we can to change this shameful reality and broaden the American cultural landscape.

We are always striving to find literary voices that simply would never be heard in America without Archipelago. Our books can bring our readers to largely unknown and forgotten locales-- the Spanish Basque Country, the Chukchi lands of Siberia, the scrublands of South Africa, war-torn Lebanon—and allow them to see these places through the perspectives of the people who live there.

We are devoted to the highest quality of design and to printing our books on the finest materials available. Archipelago books are unmistakable, and they are books that you will enjoy holding in your hands.

Archipelago is working in partnership with like-minded organizations here and abroad, hosting events and readings for our authors and translators. We are deeply grateful for the generous support of foundations, international cultural organizations, and the vital contributions of individual donors. The community around Archipelago is growing thanks to the enthusiasm of booksellers, professors, librarians, our remarkable translators, and our devoted readers. Without you, we would not be able to continue to publish these important books. We thank you all, and invite you to take a close look at the extraordinary lineup of books we’ll be bringing out in 2011.

4labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:00 pm

PUBLISHER

Europa Editions

Becoming increasing popular in America, Europa Editions just published their 100th book. Note: only 2/3 of their titles are translations.

From Their Website

Europa Editions is a New York-based publisher of literary fiction, high-end mystery and noir, children’s illustrated fiction, narrative non-fiction, and memoir. Approximately two-thirds of the titles on our list are works of literature in translation.

Europa Editions was founded in 2005 by Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzola Ferri, who are also the owner-publishers of Rome-based Edizioni E/O, one of Europe’s most prestigious independent publishing houses. Our idea was to capitalize on Edizioni E/O’s decades-long experience to bring fresh voices to the American market and provide quality English editions of international literature by enlisting some of the best translators in the business. Our appearance would be distinct, incorporating both European and U.S. jacket design standards. Our publishing endeavor would be as much a cultural enterprise as a business venture, convinced, as we are, that dialogue between nations and cultures has never been more important than now, and that this exchange is facilitated by literature chosen not only for its ability to entertain and fascinate, but also to inform and enlighten. To this end, Sandro and Sandra were joined by veteran publisher Kent Carroll, formerly editor-in-chief at Grove Press and founder-publisher at Carroll & Graf. Kent acquires original titles in English, giving our list a truly transatlantic flavor, and heads up our offices, located in Union Square, New York.

5labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:00 pm

PUBLISHER

NYRB Classics

Note: not all of their publications are translations.

From Their Website

The NYRB Classics series is designedly and determinedly exploratory and eclectic, a mix of fiction and non-fiction from different eras and times and of various sorts. The series includes nineteenth century novels and experimental novels, reportage and belles lettres, tell-all memoirs and learned studies, established classics and cult favorites, literature high, low, unsuspected, and unheard of. NYRB Classics are, to a large degree, discoveries, the kind of books that people typically run into outside of the classroom and then remember for life.

Inevitably literature in translation constitutes a major part of the NYRB Classics series, simply because so much great literature has been left untranslated into English, or translated poorly, or deserves to be translated again, much as any outstanding book asks to be read again.

The series started in 1999 with the publication of Richard Hughes’s A High Wind in Jamaica and by the end of 2009, over 260 titles will be in print. NYRB Classics includes new translations of canonical figures such as Euripides, Dante, Balzac, and Chekhov; fiction by modern and contemporary masters such as Vasily Grossman, Mavis Gallant, Daphne du Maurier, Stefan Zweig, and Upamanyu Chatterjee; tales of crime and punishment by George Simenon and Kenneth Fearing; masterpieces of narrative history and literary criticism, poetry, travel writing, biography, cookbooks, and memoirs from such writers as Norman Mailer, Lionel Trilling, and Charles Simic; and unclassifiable classics on the order of J. R. Ackerley’s My Dog Tulip and Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy. Last fall we published series’ first graphic novel, Poem Strip by Dino Buzzati, translated into English for the first time. A few of our 2010 publishing highlights are Olivia Manning’s epic work Fortunes of War: The Balkan Trilogy; Jean Stafford’s coming of age novel The Mountain Lion; William Lindsay Gresham’s noir masterpiece, Nightmare Alley; and The Road, the first English language translation of selected writings by Vasily Grossman.

Published in handsome uniform trade paperback editions, almost all NYRB Classics feature an introduction by an outstanding writer, scholar, or critic of our day. Taken as a whole, NYRB Classics may be considered a series of books of unrivaled variety and quality for discerning and adventurous readers.

6labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:01 pm

ONLINE MAGAZINE

Belletrista

This bi-monthly magazine focuses on women's literature from around the world. The magazine was founded by an LT member, and many of its reviewers are also on LT. Note: not all of their publications are translations.

From Their Website

Belletrista is a not-for-profit, bimonthly web magazine which seeks both to encourage cross-cultural understanding through international literature written by women and to increase the visibility of that literature.

Originally the brain child of Lois Ava-Matthew, Belletrista has been developed and honed with the assistance of a remarkable international group of readers who came together as our Board of Advisors, each bringing to the magazine special skills, talents and education. Our initial group of writers and reviewers come from the US, UK, continental Europe, Canada, Ireland, Australia and South Africa, a list that is expanding.

We approach our mission as readers, not as academics or book industry professionals. Belletrista hopes to bring its unique view of women-authored, global literature to a broad audience of international booklovers, from the seasoned fan of world literature to the passionate reader who is just venturing beyond familiar literary shores.

A majority of our content is freelance-written. Writers should note that we do not accept submissions of original fiction or poetry. We do not accept unsolicited material of any kind; however, if you think you have something to contribute to our magazine please feel free to contact us and inquire.

Belletrista acknowledges the early and continuing support, financial and otherwise, of the Matthew family, The Toadstool Bookshop of Milford, NH, USA; and the generosity of many of its writers and advisors.

7labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:00 pm

AWARD LIST

Batchelder Award

This award is for an outstanding children's book that has been translated into English. The prize actually goes to the publisher of that book. The award list goes back to 1968.

From Their Website

The Batchelder Award is a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.

8labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:00 pm

ONLINE MAGAZINE

Words Without Borders

Includes fiction written by international authors who might not otherwise have a voice, as well as reviews. WWB also has an education program to foster use of international literature in American schools. Underwritten in part by Amazon.

From Their Website

Words without Borders translates, publishes, and promotes the finest contemporary international literature. Our publications and programs open doors for readers of English around the world to the multiplicity of viewpoints, richness of experience, and literary perspective on world events offered by writers in other languages. We seek to connect international writers to the general public, to students and educators, and to print and other media and to serve as a primary online location for a global literary conversation.

Every month, on our online magazine, we publish eight to ten new works by international writers. We have published works by Nobel Prize winner J.M.G Le Clézio, Herta Müller, Mahmoud Darwish, Etgar Keret, Per Petterson, Fadhil Al-Azzawi, W.G. Sebald, and Ma Jian, as well as many new and rising international writers. To date we have published well over a thousand pieces from 114 countries and eighty languages.

In addition to producing the magazine, we partner with publishing houses to release print anthologies. To date we have released Words without Borders: The World through the Eyes of Writers (Anchor Books), Literature from the “Axis of Evil”: Writing from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Other Enemy Nations (The New Press), and The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain (Open Letter). 2010 will see the release of The Ecco Anthology of International Poetry and Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes of the Middle East, edited by Reza Aslan and published by W.W. Norton.

Finally, Words without Borders is building an education program in order to expose students at both the high school and college levels to a broader spectrum of contemporary international literature. Our goal is to provide content and resources fostering the use of contemporary literature in the classroom. We hope that in reaching out to students we can create a passion for international literature, a curiosity about other cultures, and help cultivate true world citizens.


9labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:00 pm

PUBLISHER

Open Letter Press

The publishing arm of Three Percent at the University of Rochester. Open Letter Press also has a subscription service.

From Their Website

Open Letter Books is the University of Rochester's literary publishing house, and it is dedicated to connecting readers with great international authors and their works. Publishing ten books a year and running an online literary website called Three Percent, Open Letter is one of only a handful of U.S. organizations with a commitment to cultivating an appreciation for international literature. The Press also provides internships, especially to students enrolled in the University's literary translation programs.

10labfs39
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:00 pm

PUBLISHER

Twisted Spoon Press

Based in Prague, Twisted Spoon provides English translations of Central and East European literature.

From Their Website

Twisted Spoon Press, founded in 1992, is an independent publisher based in Prague. Focused on translating into English a variety of writing from Central & Eastern Europe and making it available to a global readership, our list includes some internationally recognized names as well as authors who are having their work published in English for the first time. Equal emphasis is placed on introducing both new works from contemporary writers and work from an earlier period that has been neglected in translation. We offer an eclectic and unique selection of literature from the region, often illustrated by local artists and always well designed and produced.

11rebeccanyc
Jul. 30, 2011, 1:02 pm

Wow, Lisa! This is terrific! I'll try to think of some resources to add.

12rebeccanyc
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 1:11 pm

ONLINE MAGAZINE

Asymptote Journal

An online journal put together by editors in Singapore, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Holland, Germany, the UK, and the US that publishes translations of contemporary literature.

From their website:
Asymptote is an exciting new international journal dedicated to literary translation and bringing together in one place the best in contemporary writing. We are interested in encounters between languages and the consequences of these encounters. Though a translation may never fully replicate the original in effect (thus our name, “asymptote”: the dotted line on a graph that a mathematical function may tend towards but never reach), it is in itself an act of creation.

George Bernard Shaw famously said, “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange those ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” Similarly, incorporeal works of art(poems, short stories etc.) have the potential to affect millions since unlike apples, they are unencumbered by the problem of scarcity(Lewis Hyde). The value of translation is that it unleashes from latency ideas and emotions to a vast sea of others who do not have access to the language in which these ideas and emotions reside.

Beyond the smorgasbord of languages offered in each issue, Asymptote seeks to persuade the reader of their sensual pleasures. Not only will we display work in its original language after the English translation, we also encourage translators (especially of poems) to provide audio recordings of the original work so that the reader has access as well to the sounds of that language, via a “Press PLAY” audio option whenever such an MP3 recording is available. Other than the usual categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama, we will also feature a section for visual poetry highlighting the intrinsic visual characteristics of the original language, the only section where we will not feature a translation.

Every quarter, we will also present an interview with a noted translator, as well as a “special feature” section devoted to encounters with (non-English) languages, in any form, that will vary from issue to issue. .

13kidzdoc
Bearbeitet: Jul. 30, 2011, 2:21 pm

PRINT MAGAZINE

World Literature Today

World Literature Today was founded as Books Abroad in 1927 by Roy Temple House, a scholar of vision from the University of Oklahoma. He devised as the journal's logo a full-rigged ship with the motto Lux a Peregre—"Light from Abroad" or (as we choose to interpret it) "The Light of Discovery."

While the journal has always served as a harbor for ships—foreign books—from abroad, it also functions as a lighthouse that reflects back the light it receives, for this has likewise been an essential part of our mission. From a modest seedling of 32 pages in January 1927, Books Abroad grew to 256 pages by the end of its fiftieth year (Autumn 1976), and that year's cover design reflected the completion of a significant circle. In January 1977 the journal became known as World Literature Today, reflecting the truly international range that its coverage and reputation had acquired.

Now in our 85th year of uninterrupted publication, WLT is the second-oldest such literary periodical in the United States, and we remain devoted to our mission of serving students, scholars, and general readers worldwide. For years, a quotation from Goethe appeared on our masthead: "These journals, as they reach a wider public, will contribute most effectively to the universal world literature for which we are hoping. There can be no question, however, of nations thinking alike. The aim is simply that they shall grow aware of one another, understand one another, and, even where they may not be able to love, may at least tolerate one another." Goethe's words, first published in 1828, remain at the heart of our mission, even—or perhaps especially—in a world that has become increasingly globalized in the 21st century but remains fraught with national, linguistic, and political divisions.

The mission of World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma's bimonthly magazine of international literature and culture, is to serve the international, state, and university communities by achieving excellence as a literary publication, a sponsor of literary prizes, and a cultural center for students. Now in its ninth decade of continuous publication, WLT has been recognized by the Nobel Prize committee as one of the "best edited and most informative literary publications" in the world, and was recently called "an excellent source of writings from around the globe by authors who write as if their lives depend on it" (Utne Reader, January 2005). WLT has received a dozen national publishing awards in the past ten years, including the Phoenix Award for Editorial Achievement from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals in 2002.


World Literature Today and the University of Oklahoma are the co-sponsors of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, a biennial award that is "given in recognition of outstanding achievement in poetry, fiction, or drama and that it be conferred solely on the basis of literary merit. Any living author writing in any language is eligible, provided only that at least a representative portion of his or her work is available in English, the language used during the jury deliberations. The prize may serve to crown a lifetime's achievement or to direct attention to an important body of work that is still developing."

WLT and OU also co-sponsor the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature, which is "intended to enhance the quality of children's literature by promoting writing that contributes to the quality of their lives."

14StevenTX
Jul. 30, 2011, 7:27 pm

RESOURCE

UNESCO Literature & Translation

On online resource for the translation of current and historically important literary works from and to any and all languages. Includes links to publishers, lists of key works by nation of origin, and a searchable database of UNESCO-sponsored translations.

From the website:

Welcome to UNESCO's Clearing House for Literary Translation, an initiative developed in the framework of the Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity, as well as a centre for information, guidance and encounter for all those (translators, publishers, researchers, archivists, teachers) working on the discovery and promotion of still unknown literatures.

15StevenTX
Jul. 30, 2011, 7:45 pm

RESOURCE
and LIST

English PEN Writers in Translation

This organization subsidizes translations of current world literature to English. The web site lists the supported translations from each year. The site also has The Bigger Read List, a recommended reading list of over 120 works of literature in translation.

From the website:

The English PEN Writers in Translation programme, supported by Bloomberg, promotes and supports literature in translation. Each year, a dedicated committee of professionals selects between 6-8 books that are translated into English from a wide variety of foreign languages. We award grants to UK publishers to help promote, market and champion these titles. Our aim is to celebrate books of outstanding literary value, dedication to free speech and intercultural understanding, which have a clear link to the PEN charter.

16janeajones
Aug. 10, 2011, 3:12 pm

What a wonderful resource this list is!

17hmajor
Bearbeitet: Sept. 3, 2011, 11:33 pm

Publishers

Two publishers I go to for translations (especially poetry) are Copper Canyon Press & Graywolf Press.

https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/
https://www.graywolfpress.org/