KF9< KI8EJ$ C8K<; FIEFK KF9< G . =fi\nfi[#YpGXlc8ljk\i 0 Gi\j\ekXk`fej KiXejcXk`feXe[C`e^l`jk`ZI`^_kj#YpA`iõ>ilX @ek\ieXk`feXcG =`ijkglYc`j_\[1Alcp)''. *%)8i^\ek`eX#Yp>XYi`\cX8[Xdf *%*:XkXcfe`X#Yp:Xid\8i\eXjXe[J`dfeXbiXY\Z @ejk`klkIXdfeCclcc#)''. ;`glkXZ`#).0 *%+>\idXep#YpI`bpJkfZb <$'/''.9XiZ\cfeX *%,:_`eX#Yp:_\eDX`g`e^ nnn%cclcc%ZXk *%-=iXeZ\#Yp8ee\$Jfg_`\J`d\e\c `ic7cclcc%ZXk 0* +% ;\j`^e1CXliX <[`kfi`XcZffi[`eXk`fe1:i`k i`XjZZc% Foreword GXlc8ljk\i Doestoevsky, Heraclitus, Dante, Virgil, Homer, Cervantes, Kafka, Kierkegaard, Tolstoy, Hlderlin, and scores of other poets and writers who have marked me foreverÑI, an American, whose only foreign language is FrenchÑhave all been revealed to me, read by me, digested by me, in translation. Translators are the shadow heroes of literature, the often forgotten instruments that make it possible for different cultures to talk to one another, who have enabled us to understand that we all, from every part of the world, live in one world. I would like to offer a salute and a declaration of thanks to all these men and women, these translators, who toil so selflessly to keep literature alive for everyone. Gi\j\ekXk`fej Translation and Linguistic Rights A`iõ>ilX Gi\j`[\ekf]@ek\ieXk`feXcG Since its foundation in 1921, International PEN has worked to promote translation and dialogue between all literatures. Among the committees of International PEN, along with the Writers in Prison Committee and the Women Writers Committee, we have a very active Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee, coordinating various initiatives by PEN federations throughout the world. The very name of the committee explains our vision: translation goes together with linguistic rights. The patient work of translators moves forward together with the pro- motion of the right of all linguistic communities to be treated as equal. PEN is commit- ted to an understanding of translation wherein all literatures, no matter how they are defined or what their place may be in any description of a globalised world, enrich one another. The present report is an important analytic tool. It shows clearly that the English- speaking cultures should open themselves and increase the number of translations into English if they want to be a real bridge between literatures. But the report also con- tains important examples of good translation-related practices in and between various lang uages. The debate about ÒEnglish as an invasive speciesÓ and the promotion of good translation practices both delineate the path for International PENÕs work today and in years to come. Participating in the Translation Debate Afj\g9Xi^Xcc ;`i\Zkfif]@ejk`klkIXdfeCclcc#9XiZ\cfeX The Catalan poet Joan Vinyoli woke up one day and rushed to set down in writing the verse that had come to him in his dreams: Òand all the pearls became eyesÓ. That is the last stanza of Can de mar (Song of the Sea) one of the beautiful poems which this poet wrote towards the end of his life. Only later, after re-reading it, did he realize that the dream echoed ArielÕs song in ShakespeareÕs The Tempest (Act I, Scene II). Poetry is in a state of constant translation in the hands of poets who read each other and are moved by verses from one literature or another. Translation is the lifeblood which sustains and nurtures literatures. One of the Institut Ramon LlullÕs missions is to broaden peoplesÕ knowledge of the work of Catalan writersÑfrom medieval classics to contemporary worksÑby supporting the translation of their works. Our task requires an analysis of the exchange among liter- atures around the world and is a subject of constant discussion with similar cultural institutions throughout Europe. One of the main challenges faced by European liter- atures is translation into English. Recognizing the need to take a close look at translation policies on an international scale, the Institut Ramon Llull decided to commission the study which follows here and, coincidentally, has been published in the year that Catalan culture is the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair. We are very grateful to Esther Allen for taking on the job of directing the study; to all who contributed to each section, for their excellent work; and to International PEN which brought to the project the rich experience of its many centers. The report is al- ready making an impact on the discussion about translation within the literary commu- nity. I hope that this debate continues around the world and that Catalan participation within it will be what we have always aimed for: to be one more voice, clear and unique, making itself heard within the greater dialogue on literature. Introduction In Act I, Scene III of Richard II, the Duke of Norfolk is banished from EnglandÑsent into exile Ònever to return.Ó Curiously, his first thought on hearing this harsh sentence pro- nounced is not of family or friends but of the English language, the only language he has spoken in the forty years of his life. To leave England, in 1595, was to leave English. Norfolk contemplates going forth into a world where his speech will be unintelligible, his very words cast into a dark dungeon, his aging mind incapable of beginning anew with some other language: Within my mouth you have engaolÕd my tongue, Doubly portcullisÕd with my teeth and lips, And dull, unfeeling, barren ignorance Is made my gaoler to attend on me. I am too old to fawn upon a nurse, Too far in years to be a pupil now: What is thy sentence, then, but speechless death, Which robs my tongue from breathing native breath?1 In the 400-odd years since Shakespeare wrote these lines, the terms of NorfolkÕs lament have been almost wholly reversed. Today, the speaker of English has a better chance of be- ing understood in more places across the globe than the speaker of any other language. Today, it is the person who does not speak English who risks exclusionÑnot merely social exclusion but exclusion from the ability to survive in the global economy: Òspeechless deathÓ indeed. 14 15 @ekif[lZk`fe Since 1921, when the PEN Club was founded in London, the transmission of human man, Snia Garcia, Misia Sert, Yana Genova, Alexandra Buchler, Kate Griffin, Siri thought across linguistic and national boundaries has been among its central con- Hustvedt, Ma Jian, Francesc Parcerisas, David Damrosch, and, in memoriam, Yael cerns. ÒLiterature, national though it be in origin, knows no frontiers, and should re- Langella. main common currency among nations in spite of political or international upheav- als,Ó reads the first line of the PEN Charter, which adds: ÒPEN stands for the principle of unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and among all nationsÉÓ EFK< In that spirit, International PEN and the Institut Ramon Llull of Barcelona, with the (E`Z_fcXjFjkc\i#n_fZ`k\jk_`jgXjjX^\`e_`jjkl[pf]k_\cXe^lX^\_`jkfipf]k_\nfic[# (%( AfricaÑEnglish plays an official role in tions are tidy and relatively easy to learn that the internal culture of the United going through to New Delhi, Bombay or government alongside one or more other compared with heavily inflected lan- States, with the presence, from the na- Bangalore.7 Not only must the call center languages. More than 85% of the worldÕs g uages and those that have other complex tionÕs beginning, of people from across workers have a near-perfect command of international organizations use English morphological variations,Ó writes Edward the globeÑAfricans, native Americans, English, they must also become accom- as an official language. But it is the recent Finegan,4 who goes on to point out that in immigrants from all parts of Europe and plished imposters, able to fake every aspect expansion of English as a second language the United States, 88 of the hundred most AsiaÑmade it Òa harbinger of global cul- of a ÒnormalÓ North American identity in the European Union that attests, per- frequently written words are mono- ture, a globalized culture before its time.Ó that would be identifiable over the tel- haps more compellingly than any other syllables. On the other hand, the vast absorp- In order to assimilate so many, the United ephone. Ò[T]hese cheerful voices had first statistic, to the languageÕs current status tive capacity of EnglishÕs lexicon, which States had to develop a common language to be trained for months, by instructors and future growth. In 1999, David Graddol throughout the history of the language and cultureÑÒcommon,Ó Heim laments, and by tapes, to acquire a pleasant mid- noted that since 1990, English- language has been incessantly ingesting words from not only in the sense of intelligible to all, dle American (not an educated American) competence on the European continent hundreds of other languages, has also but also in the sense of what would be in- accent, and to learn basic American slang, had risen sharply, to the point that over been identified as a possible source of its telligible to the lowest common denom- informal idioms (including regional ones) 100 million people, almost a third of powerÑa hypothesis that should perhaps inator. Ostler, however, offers a different and elementary mass culture references the European UnionÕs population, were give pause to those who seek to protect and less nation-specific explanation, (television personalities and the plots speaking it as a second language.3 Grad- other languages from an influx of English de claring that from the Reformation to and protagonists of the main sitcoms, the dolÕs finding that in 1994 10% of European words. Furthermore, several linguists have the present, historically and culturally, latest blockbuster in the multiplex, fresh continentals over the age of 55 knew some conjectured that there may be a funda- ÒEnglish is associated with the quest to get baseball and basketball scores, and so on), English while 55% of those between 15 and mental link between the Subject-Verb- rich, the deliberate acquisition of wealth, so that if the exchange with the client in 24 did, speaks volumes about what can be Object (SVO) grammatical structureÑwhich often by quite unprecedented and imagin- the United States becomes prolonged, they expected for the future. is characteristic not only of English but ative schemes. This quest has sometimes will not falter with the small talk and have The current position of the United also of a number of other languages in had to struggle with religious and civic the means to continue to pass for Ameri- States as the worldÕs economic and mili- widespread use, such as Chinese, French, conscience, and the glories of patriotism, cans.Ó Many anxiety-riddled seekers of tary superpower has clearly played a role Russian and SpanishÑand the basic but has largely been able to enlist them technical support in the United States can in the global consolidation of English, as processing mechanisms of the human on its side. In general, it has been the ally, testify that not all call center workers in has the seemingly infinite appeal in the brain. In this theory, SVO languages would rather than the rival, of freedom of the India have been driven to these lengths of global marketplace of US cultural pro- be inherently more processable than individual. English has been, above all, a impersonation; it is possible to dial in to ducts. However, as Nicholas Ostler exten- other kinds of languages, and therefore worldly language.Ó6 an Indian call center and realize that one sively documents in his Òlanguage history more useful and appealing to a wider In an article delivered as the 2002 St. Jer- is speaking with an Indian. Still, it is clear of the world,Ó Empires of the Word, not every variety of speakers. ome Lecture in LondonÕs Queen Elizabeth that the widespread use of English India empire is successful at imposing its lan- Still, the most obvious explanation for Hall, which she dedicated to the mem- inherited as part of the mixed legacy of its g uage on the regions over which it holds the current might of the English language ory of the late W.G. Sebald, Susan Sontag colonial history has given it a real edge in sway, and US imperial power alone may remains the current might of the United mused on the fate of the many young the current global economy. not be quite enough to explain the un- States of America. The linguist and trans- people in India who work in ÒoutsourcedÓ The prosperity that knowledge of Eng- precedented spread of English. Several lator Michael Henry Heim has offered call centers for IBM, American Express and lish can bring has not gone unnoticed in linguists have theorized that this global another way of thinking about that con- other giant corporations, fielding queries many parts of the world. ÒIf we combine appeal may have to do with factors inter- nection by positing that the global appeal in English from consumers in the United our academic knowledge with the English nal to the language itselfÑits comparative of US language and culture emerges out States who have dialed a toll-free number, language,Ó Puntsag Tsagaan, MongoliaÕs simplicity, to begin with. ÒEnglish inflec- of the countryÕs history.5 Heim points out often without realizing that their call was Minister of Education told the New York 20 21 KiXejcXk`fe#>cfYXc`qXk`fe#Xe[ Times in early 2005Ñnot long after Mon- Bilingualism in and of itself is no threat after the city where it was signedÑwhich, influence. ÒMost people,Ó Crystal notes, all goliaÕs newly-elected government had an- to the existence of a language, whatever taking as its model the 1948 Universal Dec- too correctly, Òhave yet to develop a lan- nounced it was getting rid of the Cyrillic the nationalists may say; many examples laration of Human Rights, seeks to Òen- g uage conscience.Ó alphabet inherited from Soviet domina- of routinely multilingual societies whose courage the creation of a political frame- The demise of half the worldÕs lang uages tion and making Mongolia a bilingual members have moved with ease through work for linguistic diversity, based upon cannot be blamed on the rise of English country, with English as its second lan- several languages for centuries can be cited. respect, harmonious coexistence and mu- alone, for many languages of wide dif- g uageÑÒwe can do outsourcing here, just And yet something is now threatening the tual benefit.Ó 13 fusion including Spanish, Portuguese, Rus- like Bangalore.Ó South Korea has gone to existence of languages across the globe to Yet such initiatives, valuable as they are, sian, Chinese and Arabic have supplanted great expense to establish six ÒEnglish a degree unprecedented in human history. have had limited impact on the popula- smaller local languages across the globe. villagesÓ inhabited primarily by native To explain this situation, the standard post- tion at large, particularly within the Eng- However, there has never before in hu- speakers of English, where students pay colonial assumptions about language and lish-speaking world. Language is gener- man linguistic history been anything for a total immersion experience. Mean- political domination may turn out to be less ally acknowledged to be humankindÕs quite like the current ascendancy of Eng- while, citing as its model the Netherlands useful than a new paradigm arising from greatest achievement, and each language lish, and there is no telling where it could and Scandinavian countries, where biling- the natural world. Ecolinguistics, the new embodies a human communityÕs unique lead. ÒWill the influence of English be so ualism with English is nearly universal, field that has arisen in response to this cri- perception and experience of the world, strong that it will permanently change Chile has embarked on a plan to make sis, takes its metaphors from biology rather all of it lost forever when the language is the character of all other languages? And itself bilingual with English within a gen- than politics, and studies language com- lost. Nevertheless, people are consistently could English kill off other languages al- eration.8 Called ÒEnglish Opens Doors,Ó munities rather than nation-states. For the far more worried about the preservation together? A world in which there was only the Chilean governmentÕs program, an- ecolinguists, the global system of human of animal species or paintings, statues and one language leftÑan ecological intellec- nounced in 2003, makes English edu- languages is best viewed as an ecosystemÑ buildings than they are about the preser- tual disaster of unprecedented scaleÑis cation mandatory from 5th grade onwards and a terrifyingly imperiled one within vation of other peoplesÕ languages. The a scenario which could in theory obtain and seeks to ensure that all graduating which fully half the species are endangered. Greeks coined the word barbarosÑÒbar- within 500 years,Ó Crystal warns. students have a decent, basic command of David Crystal reports that of the 6,000 lan- barianÓÑto refer to all who did not speak This forecast may not seem quite as English.9 Spanish, like Chinese, is among guages currently in existence, half will have Greek and whose languages were deemed menacing as other, more immediate the top five most widely spoken lang uages died out within the next century. ÒIt turns by the Greeks to be a single, undifferenti- threats to the planet such as global warm- on the planet, and itÕs a further key in- out,Ó he writes, Òthat 96% of the worldÕs lan- ated, incoherent stammer: a Òbabble.Ó It ing. Yet when we move the discussion of dicator of EnglishÕs global meta-domina- guages are spoken by just 4% of the worldÕs seems always to have been true that most this issue from the world itself into the tion that it has become necessary not only people.Ó11 Only 600 of the worldÕs languages people have a very difficult time valuing world of literature, the monolingual dys- to people who speak languages of limited are not presently in danger.12 languages they themselves do not speak. topia feared by those who are concerned diffusion, but also to those who speak the This crisis has aroused a great deal of The infinitely complex shimmer of logic, about vanishing languages is much more worldÕs major tongues. In painfully sharp concern in the communities where the music, allusion, tradition and idiosyncra- nearly upon us. It is particularly painful contrast to the Chilean drive for biling- imperiled languages are spoken, among sy that constitutes a language for its own to observe that when it comes to litera- ualism is the ÒEnglish onlyÓ movement in linguists, and among certain internation- speakers is, from the outside, pure gib- ture the global language does indeed be- the United States, where a vociferous al organizations. International PEN and berish or, worse still, the indecipherable have more like an invasive species than a group of nationalists is eager to claim its Translation and Linguistic Rights Com- secret code of an enemy. Myths in many lingua franca, resisting and supplanting that English is under some kind of threat munity are proud to have been among the cultures view language diversity itself as whatever is not written in itself, speak- from minority communities within the primary forces behind the 1996 ÒUniver- a kind of punishment and depict an idyl- ing in the loudest of voices while failing US that speak Spanish, Chinese or other sal Declaration of Linguistic RightsÓÑalso lic pre-Babel universe of monolingualism to pay much attention at all to anything languages.10 known as the ÒBarcelona DeclarationÓ and peace. Such myths retain their said in any other language. The preamble 22 23 KiXejcXk`fe#>cfYXc`qXk`fe#Xe[ to the Universal Declaration of Linguistic they do converge it is the crucial impor- diale des lettres.18 CasanovaÕs metaphors are be internationalized through translation Rights calls for Òrespect for the ecological tance to literature of traffic among differ- taken from economics rather than bio- into English. In this way, its hypotheses balance of societies and for equitable re- ent languages. The Russian literary theorist logy: in her account, each language is a will be able to be scrutinized in a practical lationships between all languages and cul- Mikhail Bakhtin viewed what he called kind of currency, and these currencies fashion, and its propositions debated at tures.Ó But as the global power of English ÒpolyglossiaÓÑthe interaction of different clearly have very different values on the a truly transnational level, by the various is compounded year by year, the inequity languages-- as fundamental to the origins global literary marketplace. She is one of actors in international literary space.Ó20 of its relationship to other languages be- of literary thinking itself, and particularly the first literary critics to fully address, Though she doesnÕt say it in so many comes increasingly problematic. In a paper crucial to the development of that most from the perspective of language, Òthe words, her meaning is clear: those who recently presented at an International hetero geneous of modern genres, the novel: unequal status of the players in the literary seek access to a Òtruly transnational levelÓ PEN gathering, the Slovene writer Andrej ÒOnly polyglossia fully frees consciousness game and the specific mechanisms of of discourse can gain it only via English. Blatnik asked: ÒWhere to export? In the from the tyranny of its own languageÉÓ16 domin ation that are manifested in it.Ó19 From this perspective, the grave and UK, only 2% of the books on the market Other critics from Raymond Williams to Because of its position as the global oft-noted failure of English to take in are translations, in the US 3%. But in Tur- Jorge Luis Borges have had other ways of language, the second language of choice literary works from other languages via key it is 40%, in Slovenia 70%. Only when putting it, but all agree that circulation across the planet, the situation of English translation becomes all the more crucial. the voice of someone else is heard can among different languages via translation within this global linguistic economy or EnglishÕs indifference to translation is Òfree choiceÓ begin. Who loses from these is the very lifeblood of literature. ÒLeft to it- World Republic of Letters is unlike that not merely a problem for native speakers statistics? Those who do not have a choice self,Ó Goethe went on to say to Eckermann, of any other language. A work translated of English who thus deprive themselves or those who cannot be chosen?Ó14 Òevery literature will exhaust its vitality if it into English does not simply reach an au- of contact with the non-English-speak- is not refreshed by the interest and con- dience of native speakersÑit reaches a glo- ing world. It is also a roadblock to global tributions of a foreign one.Ó17 bal audience. Therefore, a work translated discourse that affects writers in every lan- (%)Nfic[C`k\iXkli\Xe[ not the English language itself, or its glo- many governments have agencies that keep translated into English from other lan- Stendhals from the total number of trans- bal scope, but the cultural forces within close tabs on the number of their books g uages last year were non-fiction.Ó These lations published in order to gain a true the language that are resistant to trans- translated into other languages as well as figures become more vividly illustrative picture of how overwhelmingly the odds lation. The difficulty of crossing between the number of books translated into their when we remember that while Italy has a are against any living literary writer who languagesÑwhat International PEN Presi- own languages. In contrast, the major Eng- population of 55 million, and the Czech does not write in English having his or her dent Jirÿ Gruÿsa has called Òthe pain of com- lish- speaking countries increasingly tend to Republic of just 10 million, the number of work published in English. municationÓÑis something the English- disregard altogether the category of what people whose first language is English is In his 1995 book The TranslatorÕs Invis- speaking world has been rather successful was originally written in languages other close to 400 million. ibility: A History of Translation, Larry Venuti at avoiding: itÕs so much easier and more than English. Bowker, the primary collector While the figure of 3% of all published found that from the 1950s on, the per- practical to remain monolingual and let of statistics on the publishing industry in books is already alarming, the situation is centage of translated books in the United the rest of the world learn your language the United States, stopped publishing in fact much more serious than that statis- States has been, on average, 2%-4% of all than to take on all the trouble, effort and statistics on translation when it switched tic would indicate. The vast majority of the books published each year, with an up- expense involved in multilingualism and from one database to another in the year translations included in this category are surge to 6%-7% during that 1960s.24 That up- translation. Far from being agents of Eng- 2000. That is to say, it continued to publish non-fiction works of a non-literary nature surge bears out Eliot WeinbergerÕs conten- lishÕs imperial hegemony, the translators figures for childrenÕs books, home econom- (computer manuals, etc.), and while such tion that the United States has been most who work into and out of English have ics, religion, sports, and travelÑbut ceased forms of exchange are certainly valuable, interested in translated literature during taken the difficulty of linguistic diversity to take note of which books originated out- when the figures for the literary world its period of post-colonial cultural forma- upon themselves, thereby making it pos- side of English.21 are viewed separately, a far starker picture tion in the 19th century, and during later sible for people to continue to read and A news release issued by Bowker in Oc- emerges. In 2004, the total number of periods of widespread discontent with its write their own languages without los- tober of 2005 did allude to the issue of adult literature and fiction titles in trans- own culture and government such as the ing access to that lionÕs share of the glo- translation.22 According to that report, lation published in the United States was 1960s and, perhaps, the present moment. bal conversation which now takes place the total number of new books published 874. 23 And even that figure is misleading. The truly alarming dimensions of the to English. By using the global lingua in English worldwide in 2004 was 375,000 A 1999 study of translation by the Nation- problem emerge with the most striking franca as a medium to connect different Ña rather daunting figure, certainly far al Endowment for the arts gathered its clarity in a study published in July 2006 by languages rather than a replacement for greater than the number of books pub- figures from reviews published in all the the Center for Book Culture which focused all other languages, translators are help- lished in any other language. ÒThe English- countryÕs literary magazines, no matter on fiction alone, from the modernist peri- ing solve the problem of the world domin- speaking countries remain relatively how small. The NEA study found that of a od to the present, excluded retranslations ance of English, not perpetuating it. inhospitable to translations into English total of 12,828 works of fiction and poetry and anthologies, assembled figures for the The very difficulty of finding reliable fig- from other languages,Ó the report stated. published in the United States in 1999 (as last five years, and then broke them down ures about what is translated into and out ÒIn all, there were only 14,440 new trans- reported by Bowker), only 297 were trans- country by country. Here itÕs clear that the of the language is symptomatic of the obsta- lations in 2004, accounting for a little more lationsÑthat is, only a little over 2% of all odds against being translated into English cles that literary translation faces in English. than 3% of all books available for sale. The fiction and poetry published, and far less that confront individual writers in flour- In many countries across the world book- 4,982 translations available for sale in the than 1% of all books published. A closer ishing literary cultures such as Argentina stores and book reviews revolve around two US was the most in the English-speaking look at those 297 titles further reveals that are almost hopeless: out of the hundreds categoriesÑworks produced nationally and world, but was less than half the 12,197 the list includes many new translations of of writers who populate the countryÕs vi- those brought in from other languages and translations reported by Italy in 2002, classic works. While such retranslations brant literary environment, fewer than cultures. And, as the various case studies and less than 400 more than the 4,602 are unquestionably a vital aspect of liter- one per year (and not necessarily a living and responses from PEN Centers around reported by the Czech Republic in 2003. ary culture, one would have to subtract one) will see one of his or her books trans- the world included in this report will attest, Almost three quarters of all books the newly translated Homers, Tolstoys and lated into English.25 26 29 KiXejcXk`fe#>cfYXc`qXk`fe#Xe[ KiXejcXk\[=`Zk`feGlYc`j_\[`ek_\Le`k\[JkXk\j#)'''$)''- The most complete source of inform- Maczka and Riky Stock of the German Book ation about literary translation into English Office in New York City which tracked only :flekip1CXe^lX^\ KiXejcXk\[kf\e^c`j_ 8m\iX^\g\ip\Xi is the journal Annotated Books Received, the figures for translations reviewed in `ecXjk-p\Xij which can be consulted on-line at www. the influential US publishing industry 8cYXe`X18cYXe`Xe * '%, literarytranslators.org/abr.html. Published magazine PublisherÕs Weekly, convincingly 8i^\ek`eX1JgXe`j_ , '%/ by the American Literary Translators As- deemed by the studyÕs authors to be the most 9\c^`ld1=c\d`j_ ( '%) 9fje`X ?\iq\^fm`eX19fje`Xe ( '%) sociation (ALTA) and the Center for Trans- accurate reflection of Òwhat is significant 9iXq`c1Gfikl^l\j\ . (%) lation Studies at the University of Texas at on the [US] book market today.Ó26 They 9lc^Xi`X19lc^Xi`Xe ( '%) Dallas, Annotated Books Received started out were told by PublisherÕs WeeklyÕs edit or-in- :_`c\1JgXe`j_ - (%' in 1983 as a section of Translation Review, chief, Sara Nelson, that the magazine pays :ifXk`X1:ifXk`Xe - (%' :lYX1JgXe`j_ () )%' ALTAÕs scholarly journal, which listed special attention to translation, reviewing :q\Z_I\glYc`Z1:q\Z_ () )%' literary translations of all kinds from any 60% of all translated books submitted, as ;\edXib1;Xe`j_ , '%/ language into English published in the opposed to only 50% of all fiction, and 25% of translation into Arabic and the need consequences of such indifference to lit- scandal of translation,Ó said translator the same pressure to which their col- for a great deal more of it. However, in the eratures not written in English.31 The Aus- and critic Gayatri Spivak at a 1994 Colum- leagues in the ÒhardÓ sciences succumbed Arab world, translation is widely viewed as trian writer Thomas Bernhard has had an bia University conference titled ÒTrans- some time ago. Concerned about the situ- a key step towards modernization, as the enormous impact on generations of writ- lation MattersÓ Òis the obliteration of the ation, the American Council of Learned So- many initiatives undertaken by a variety ers all over the world, including English- figure of the translator.Ó cieties launched the Social Science Trans- of Arab governments to support trans- speaking writers. And yet, Calasso noted, ÒThe Academy [in the United States] has lation Project which brought together lation, documented in a report on trans- only a limited number of BernhardÕs made it perfectly clear that translations translators, editors and social scientists to lation in the Arab world by the Next Page many works are available in English, and are virtually worthless when it comes discuss problems arising from the transla- Foundation, attest.29 Meanwhile, in Korea, much of his work, including some essen- time for tenure and promotion,Ó trans- tion of social science texts. The group has Park Sang-il fears that Òindifference to the tial books, has yet to be translated. English- lator Alyson Waters, managing editor of now issued a series of guidelines for the importance of translation could impov- speaking writers are therefore in the Yale French Studies, recently stated in an in- translation of social science texts, as well as erish the cultural ground [of Korea] and situation of being superficially influenced terview with French translator Elisabeth a document titled ÒA Plea for Social Sci- in the end threaten the viability of our by a writer to whose work they have only Peellaert.32 The situation, Waters adds, entists to Write in Their Own Languages.Ó34 mother tongue.Ó limited access. may be changing with the growth of the Noting that Òsocial science concepts and English, by contrast, does not, for the This brings us to a key aspect of the field of Translation Studies, though for the terms used to convey them are shaped moment, face any such threat if it largely problem of translation into English: the the moment a literary scholar in the Unit- by the characteristics of the language in ignores most other languages. As weÕve American universityÕs devaluation of ed States is far better off writing about which they are originally produced and, noted, translation into English means translation as a form of literary scholar- translation-related issues than actually consequently, by the cultural and historical that a book is more likely to be translated ship. Translation has been among the practicing literary translation itself. The experience of the users of that language,Ó into many other languages, as well,30 most fundamental scholarly activities American Literary Translators Association the ÒPleaÓ deplores the Òincreasing ho- making the issue addressed in this report for millennia, but many contemporary has addressed the situation by publish- mogenization and impoverishment of so- a matter of great concern to the segment American universities do not view it as a ing a useful pamphlet called ÒTranslation cial science discourseÓ resulting from Òthe of the global literary audience that wishes sufficiently significant or original form and TenureÓ to help junior faculty mem- growing hegemony of a single language.Ó to remain interconnected with as many of endeavor. This trend away from trans- bers gain respect for their work as literary Writing to one of the leaders of the different language groups as possible. But lation has had some remarkably perverse translators among their colleagues.33 ACLS Social Science Translation Project in what does English itself lose or risk by its consequences. ItÕs a far safer career move In recent years, even some university response to the ÒPlea,Ó Bente Christensen, failure to translate? Aside from the self- for a US academic to write, in English, a presses, which had been among the best a vice-president of the International Fed- evident political and social dangers to an monograph on an author whose work has sources of translations in literature and eration of Translators and a member of empire that fails to pay attention to the never been translated into English than to the human sciences, have announced that Norwegian PEN wrote, ÒHere in Norway, rest of the world, an increasing provincial- translate that authorÕs work into English. they will no longer publish translations, or we fight to have some university books ism also poses a threat to the literature of Faculty members who continue to publish are severely cutting back on the number written in Norwegian and not only in the United States. At a panel discussion translations sometimes do so under pseu- of translations they publish. While this English. The students do not really un- organized by PEN American Center to ad- donyms, for fear of seeing their scholarly has had an impact on literary translation, derstand what they read. I have seen that dress issues of translation and global- reputations tainted, or simply leave the it has led to a particularly troubling situ- many times. They repeat the concepts in ization, Roberto Calasso the distinguished translations off their curricula vitae when ation in the social sciences. Not only within English, but when I ask them to explain mythographer and director of the Italian career achievements are being evaluated. the United States, but across the globe gen- what it is in Norwegian, they get con- publishing house Adelphi Edizioni, 50%- Other scholars who publish Òtoo many erally, social scientists have come under fused.Ó ÒWhen we speak English,Ó Amin 70% of whose list consists of translations, translationsÓ may fail to receive tenure or ever-increasing pressure to write in English, Maalouf told an audience at the Interna- pointed out some very serious literary ever to gain employment at all. ÒThe great whatever their first language might beÑ tional PEN Congress in Tromso, Norway in 30 31 KiXejcXk`fe#>cfYXc`qXk`fe#Xe[ 2004, Òwe sometimes feel that our words Wasserman, former editor of the Los Ange- we do,Ó Benjamin Schwarz, book review rider goes back up to the street and strolls our superficial, that the meaning does les Times Book Review) that have little or no editor of the magazine, mentions that The into a bookstore, sheÕll find little there not go very deep. For any writer or anyone lasting cultural value. Literary translation Atlantic publishes few reviews of trans- that can help her win entry into the al- who sets out to compose a written docu- is the narrowest of fringes on the edge lated books.37 Anticipating a charge of Òpa- ien tongues that were ringing in her ears ment of any kind, the choice of language of that fringe, and while there are some rochialism,Ó Schwarz acknowledges that a few seconds earlierÑalmost everything is deeply personal and unique; many writ- publishing houses that have maintained this is Òhalf-rightÓ: ÒWe tend to focus on there will have been written in English. ers have chosen to express themselves in an admirable degree of commitment to it, prose-style in our assessment of fiction. The challenge, for the English-speaking languages other than their native tongue many other houses avoid it or view it as a ItÕs obviously far more difficult to do so world, is not to become multilingualÑwe for a wide variety of reasons. However, not kind of charitable endeavor, at best. when reviewing literature in translation, already are, and beyond Mikhail BakhtinÕs only literary writers, but increasing num- The translated book that does get pub- because both the reviewer and the reader wildest dreamsÑbut to translate the poly- bers of people across the globe are pres- lished then faces the problem of reviews of a work encounter not the authorÕs writ- glossia of our schools, streets and subways sured to carry out the most important as- and marketing. Only in rare instances ing but the translatorÕs rendering of it. onto our bookshelves. pects of their academic and professional involving Nobel Prize winners or writers Hence we run fewer pieces on translated There are many translators, editors, lives in a language that is not fully theirs, whose global renown is fully consolidated works.Ó The prose style of some transla- publishing houses, agents, teachers, aca- because otherwise their work would sim- have publishers in the English-speaking tions is indeed flawed, but then so is the demics, institutions, and organizations ply be ignored.35 world invested the kind of pre-publica- prose style of many works originally writ- that remain deeply committed to bring- There have been a number of positive tion advances in translated books that ten in English; the use of such a pretext as ing international writing into English. trends with regard to the publication of make them then commit large amounts grounds for paying less attention to world There is a lot to do, but there is also a lot literary translation in the United States of money to promoting them after publi- literature is highly suspect, to say the least. to build on. The level of translation into over the last two or three years (as the cation. The first-time novelist who writes Roberto Calasso has described much of English seems to have reached an extreme very recent figures from Publishers Weekly in English may well have a publisher with contemporary US culture as a Òlethal low point from which there was nowhere mentioned in the study by the German a half-million dollar investment to recov- mixture of provincialism and imperial- to go but up, but the pendulum does seem Book Office above show), and much will er, and therefore a book tour, extensive ad- ism,Ó and such an attitude on the part of to be swinging back towards translation be said about them in the fourth chapter vertisements, and all the other perks that book reviewers can serve as an excellent with surprising momentum. A very en- of this report. But there is also a deeply en- may (or may not) push a book to the top example of what he means. couraging number of new initiatives have trenched tendency within many sectors of of bestseller list. But the novelist whose But that is far too grim a note on which emerged in the last few years from outside the US publishing industry to view liter- work is coming out in English trans lation to conclude. The English-speaking world, and within the English-speaking world, ary translation as unsaleable. ÒAmerica for the first time is very unlikely to be particularly in its major cities, is by no particularly within the United States, and Yawns at Foreign FictionÓ read a memo- given any of those marketing and pub- means the monolingual place that a reader the results are already making themselves rable headline in the New York Times on licity resources. And while some re viewers with no experience of it might imagine felt. So many people are now committed the subject of the US reception of trans- are merely nervous about discussing after reading this report. Amanda Hopkin- to making the globeÕs linguistic invasive lated literature.36 Of course, literature it- translated books because they donÕt have son, director of the British Centre of Liter- species into a means by which languages self is faring none too well within the US access to the original language the books ary Translation, points out that children can communicate with each other that book market these days; literary fiction were written in, others feel no qualms show up in the London city schools speak- there must surely be very good news to and non-fiction and, especially, poetry, about expressing an attitude of open dis- ing more than 350 different languages at come. International PEN and the Institut often seem to be little more than a kind dain to the practice of literary translation home. Anyone who has ever ridden the Ramon Llull respectfully submit this re- of fringe on the margins of the vast ma- itself. In an article in the highly regarded New York subway has plunged into an port to that large community of bridge- chine that churns out massive numbers literary and cultural magazine The Atlantic environment probably as multilingual builders, hoping it will be useful to them of Òbook-shaped objectsÓ (to quote Steve Monthly titled ÒWhy we review the books as any on earth. But if that same subway in the task we are all jointly undertaking. 32 33 KiXejcXk`fe#>cfYXc`qXk`fe#Xe[ EFK (*J\\nnn%c`e^l`jk`Z$[\ZcXiXk`fe%fi^ )0ÈCfjkfi=fle[`eKiXejcXk`fe1KiXejcXk`fejËjlggfikgfc`$ Z`\j`ek_\8iXYnfic[#ÉXi\gfikZfdd`jj`fe\[Ypk_\E\ok (+KiXejcXk\[YpDXaXM`j\eaXb$C`dfe% GX^\ =fle[Xk`fe `e Jf]X# 9lc^Xi`X# ^`m\j Xe \oki\d\cp _\cg]lc Zfek\ok kf k_\ X]fi\d\ek`fe\[ LE;G i\gfik Xe[ (, :`k\[ ]ifd The previous chapter covers the situation tionnaire replies enable a comparison to be regarding literary translation in English- made between the reports on France, The speaking countries, with particular refer- Netherlands, and Catalonia with the data ence to the United States. By contrast, this furnished by the Flanders PEN center and chapter gives an overview of the main trends opinions from countries in Central and in literary translation internationally, Eastern Europe (Lithuania, Hungary, Slov- although it takes into consideration the enia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia). problem discussed in the first chapter, In addition, some of the comments by the namely the decline in translations from San Miguel de Allende PEN Center (Mexico) other languages into English. shed light on the situation in South Amer- The argument to be developed here is ica (contained in the report on Argentina). based on questionnaire replies received by All replies from PEN centers to the question- PEN International from PEN centers around naire on translation may be read in their the world. The replies received from the UK, entirety on the website Diversity (www.di- Australia, New Zealand, and to some extent versity.org.mk). the Philippines furnish complementary in- formation on the complex situation in the English language publishing field. With re- )%(Gifa\Zk`feXYifX[ gard to the thriving free market for books in Asia, apart from the report on China, K_\cXZbf]jkXk`jk`Zj the only other data received are from Japan One of the main differences in the replies and these are of a general nature. The ques- received from the centers concerns the 36 37 C`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe1K_\@ek\ieXk`feXcGXefiXdX availability of statistical data. It is surpris- long ÒexiledÓ in Europe and who has languages, is the area with the strongest priate. Books are translated into English ing that several centers state they do not published most of his works abroad be links when it comes to world literature. despite their slender chances of ever reach- have reliable data on which works have said to form part of the literary tradition These exchanges are complemented with ing English-speaking readers. Rather, the been translated into foreign languages. It is of his native country? It is not surprising frequent translations into Chinese and Jap- aim is get the attention of intermediaries worth considering this issue since the lack that many governments simply duck the anese (AsiaÕs main languages) and into those who might foster their translation into lan- of information is not attributable to negli- issue when drawing up statistics. in Indo-China (e.g. Vietnamese, Malay, and g uages (such as French and German) that gence by the questionnaire respondents. In the following section, the clear-cut Korean) and some Indian languages. There are much more open to foreign writers. The main reason for this dearth of in- responses made by the UK and Australian are no translations into African languages formation is the lack of appropriate bod- PEN Centers regarding the domestic mar- andÑsurprisinglyÑnone of the PEN centers K_\cXZbf] of immigrants or Britons who have spent a Sydney indicate that fewer than half a British encyclopedias are dumped at a In the Australian PEN CenterÕs view, this long time abroad. According to the UK dozen books are translated each year. The tenth or a hundredth of their original aspect is of key importance. Aust ralian PEN Center, there is no chance of attaining President of the New Zealand PEN Center price to prevent the appearance of pirated readers have a strong herd instinct but sufficient command of foreign languages noted that readers and even literary crit- versions on the black market. the book businessÑparticularly in the in British schools and universitiesÑsome- ics are often unaware that they are read- Both the publishing and retail sides case of independent publishersÑdepends thing that is cause for great concern. ing a translation, given that the fact is not of the book business in English-speaking on readers acting as individuals. Accord- highlighted. Furthermore, many of the world are dominated by conglomerates ingly, the market gives translated poetry K_\`dYXcXeZ\jZXlj\[YpjlYj`[`\j books sold in the country are published and chains. Two multinationalsÑthe Ger- and literature short shrift. The differences between the European in the UK, US, or Australia and most of man Bertelsmann group and the French countries that took part in the survey are the literary works found in New ZealandÕs Hachette group have the lionÕs share of the K_\Zfdgc\o`kpf]gfjk$Zfcfe`Xc notable. The economic problems faced bookshops and libraries were also pub- publishing market. Both groups focus on Zfleki`\j by Macedonia mean the nation lacks the lished abroad. New Zealand publishers best-sellers. Authors receive vast sums for Another feature of English-speaking coun- subsidies needed to promote its literature exert practically no influence over literary such works. However, there is also a new tries, particularly Commonwealth ones, is abroad. Foreign publishing houses expect translation policies. trend in the UKÑnon-author best-sellers. their complex ethnic make-up. The New Zea- translation to be funded by the country The Australian respondents also noted For example, even a firm like Bloomsbury land PEN Center drew attention to this as- of origin. EuropeÕs poorer countries have the pitiful state of literary publishing in has stooped to publishing ghost-written pect. Whatever their origin, immigrants are been forced to face the unpleasant truth the country. The Australian market for autobiographies of football players and expected to learn English. However, Maori that the market for literary translations translated works is dominated by imports fashion models. This is the ÒliteratureÓ of is the countryÕs other official language. Ac- mirrors a nationÕs economic clout rather from the US and UK. Furthermore, the the masses with a vengeance and nothing, cordingly, there are translations between than its publicising skill or the intrinsic Free Trade Agreement between Australia it seems, can detain its juggernaut career English and Maori. The government has also merits of its literature. and the US has opened the floodgates to through the industry. The most trans- assumed responsibility for publishing text- dumping, with American booksellers sell- lated works are detective stories or tales of books in Samoan, Maori Kuki Airani in the ing remaindered items very cheaply. The an erotic, even pornographic nature. One Cook Islands, and in the Tongan and Niuean )%)8ZZ\gkXeZ\f]kiXejcXk\[ same American approach to bookselling should note here that such works are not languages. However, only a very small pro- c`k\iXkli\ is foundÑalbeit in a milder formÑelse- considered great literature but rather ex- portion of this material may be considered where in the English-speaking world. It otic foreign variations on a theme. to be of a literary nature. K_\`ek\ieXcjkilZkli\f] which some 350 languages are spoken The Philippines. By contrast, there are Kata Kulavkova, President of PEN In- works of literature. Happily, there is cur- in the cityÕs playgrounds. There is also fewtranslations into English of Philip- ternationalÕs Translation and Language rently something of a boom in literary growth in the writing and publication of pine literary works written in local lan- Rights Committee in Macedonia noted a translation in Hungary. poetry among immigrant communities guages. This is because very few English- positive feature of these tiny literary mar- in their languages of origin, and renewed speaking specialists who can read those kets. Translations of universal literature According to Isabelle Rossaert of the Flem- Selimovic« and Mak Dizdar). The State pro- 150-page work, as an advance against an were only interested in works with Òa big ish PEN Center, without access to the Dutch vides no support whatsoever. average royalty of 2%. In Britain, 4,423 dose of Australian landscapeÓ. market the Flemish publishing industry The Bosnia PEN Center argues that Bos- would be paid for the same work and in A similar phenomenon applies to works would be confined to a very small area. nia-Herzegovina is an invention of the Australia 3,700. Translators working in from Eastern Europe. Most of the books While there are tensions between the Wal- Dayton Peace Accords, which are merely a Holland could, according to the figures published in the United States speak of the loon (i.e. French-speaking) and Flemish lit- attempt at nation-building. Accordingly, supplied by Bas Pauw in his case study, expect victims of Communism, censorship and erary communities, they are much weaker no government strategy can realistically up to 6,712 Euros for that same 150 repression, and the economic slump in than in Macedonia where two languages be expected regarding languages, national pages, between the standard fee from the Eastern Europe that followed Soviet with- contend for a very meagre budget. literatures, or free markets. Political factors publisher and a translation grant available drawal. ÒThereÕs no point in importing love According to Ferida D- u rakovic«, the state make literary exchanges with neighbouring to them. Figures for other countries are stories or other frivolous fare from far-off of the book market in Bosnia-Herzegovina countries and with the rest of the world 2,100 Euros (Slovenia); 1,300 Euros (Mac- lands no matter how well they are written is disastrous. The market is very small well-nigh impossible. edonia); 1,000 Euros (Hungary) and 945 because weÕve got plenty of that stuff hereÓ, and publishing books in short print runs Euros (Lithuania). Thus rates vary widely. ironically noted Andrej Blatnik, Secretary is very expensive. Moreover, people can K_\gfj`k`fef]c`k\iXipkiXejcXkfij of the Slovenian PEN Center. barely scrape enough money together to Although translated works are not always Gi\j\ekZ_Xcc\e^\j The English PEN Center notes the in- buy text books, let alone literary works. bestsellers, an excellent network of libr- All the PEN Centers replying to the ques- creasing number of translations but in Publishers are trying to broaden their aries in Macedonia and similar countries tionnaire agreed that the international the fiction field these include best-sellers markets to embrace other Serbo-Croat ensures that such works will be available climate is now more receptive towards like the Harry Potter or the Miss Marple speaking countries (Croatia, Serbia, and to readers for decades. It also means that their literary works. Some of the centers series. Translation of English essays or po- Montenegro). However, since all these translations are of a very high quality and noted that bodies promoting the nationÕs etry is much more sporadic. For example, countries are economically and politically that translators enjoy social prestige, even literature abroad had decisively con- the works of Andrew Motion, a renowned in much the same situation, the immedi- though their work is often poorly paid. tributed to extending the countryÕs sphere contemporary English poet, have never ate prospects for such a strategy are poor. Here, one should note that the posi- of influence. The Lithuanian PEN Center been translated. Publishers in the region have taken timid tion of translators is not so very different stressed that this broadening of horizons Which country has greater choiceÑthe steps to widen markets. in the UK. Amanda Hopkinson in London played an important role in changing the UK in which only 2% of books are trans- Before the Yugoslav Civil War, Bosnia- commented: ÒMost of us do not change political climate in Europe ending The lated from other literatures, or Brazil Herzegovina had an association of literary and continue translating well despite be- Cold War; facilitating the EU entry of where translations account for almost translators that worked fairly well in the ing badly treatedÓ. Even so, translators in former Communist countries; and chang- 90% of the books published? Neither ex- country. The association fell apart during Britain are in an enviable position if we ing perceptions of Eastern Europe. treme seems desirable. British readers live the war and translators now act on their compare them with their counterparts Despite some serious concerns, the PEN in a country in which it is very hard to find own initiative. There is no State plan for in Australia. The questionnaire response center replies are generally optimistic. translated works and discover a foreign carrying out literary translations of im- from that country noted: ÒTranslation is Even so, the globalisation of book mar- culture. On the other hand, Brazilians read portant works. Furthermore, the civil war generally considered necessary for provid- kets bodes ill for literary works. All too of- authors from many countries but their has left deep scars and poor-quality trans- ing services to immigrants. Accordingly, ten, the interest in the literary output of own writers are not translated into many lations are made by groups or individuals over the last half century it has gained a other countries is little more than a taste foreign languages. Despite the progress with an ideological and/or ethnic axe to social services slant.Ó for the exotic. Members of the Australian made, mutual ignorance is likely to last for grind. Only a few good translations sur- In her case study of the situation in France, PEN Center dryly noted that ÒThe UK and a long time yet. One can therefore say that face abroad (of works by Miljenko Jergovic«, Anne-Sophie Simenel states that translators US cast a long shadow over AustraliaÕs pas- the need for literary translation is as great Dzÿevad Karahasan, Abdulah Sidran, Mesÿa can expect to earn2,925-3,375 Euros for a turesÓ and that this was why Australians as ever and in some cases is an acute one. The following took part in the survey: 8LJKI8C@8EG 9FJE@8 ? ?LE>8I@8E G A8G8E 13. How important is it to your writersÕ careers to be translated into English? To what Questionnaire extent are they being translated into English? This was the questionnaire sent to the PEN centers: 14. Please identify some works of your countryÕs literature, both classical and contemporary, which have not been adequately translated into other languages, 1. To what degree are your writers being translated into other languages? and which you believe should be translated. 2. Into which languages are they being translated? 15. Please provide any examples you have of good practice with relation to the circulation of literature in translation both into and out of your language. 3. What percentage of the books published in your country each year are literary translations from other languages? 16. Are there any prizes or awards for literary translations? 4. What is the state of the publishing industry in your country, and how large is the 17. Is there any interest in your country in the bilateral/ multilateral publication market for translated books? of translated books, for example among publishers internationally? 5. What is the history of translation in your country, and how is it now viewed? Is the 18. Is there a mechanism in your country for promoting reciprocal translations amount of translation, both into and from your languages, growing or decreasing? with another country? 6. Do translated works enjoy greater or lesser prestige than works originally written 19. Is there any form of support from the book industry for translation, such as in the languages of your country? bookshops specializing in foreign literature, or special provision for reviewing and/ promoting translation within the media? 7. How are translators treated? Is literary translation considered an art or a mechanical task? 20. How many members of your PEN Centre are translators? 8. What is the level of remuneration for literary translators in your country? 9. What are the criteria for paying translatorsÑfor instance, are rates of payment for translation between the languages within your country different than for translation from/into the so-called big languages? 10. Does your government have a policy of encouraging literary translation, both into and out of your countryÕs languages? 11. Is there any form of independent organization, such as a foundation, supporting the translation of your national literature/s? 12. Do you believe the international climate is becoming more or less favorable for the reception of your writers? 3. Six Case Studies on Literary Translation This chapter describes and analyses prac- be made for a few authors (Cees Nootebo- tices in six countries (The Netherlands, Ar- om, Harry Mulisch, Arnon Grunberg are gentina, Catalonia, Germany, China, and fairly well-known authors internationally) France) regarding literary translation. They and for a country like Germany, where Dut- are five states and a nation without state: ch literature has penetrated very successfu- Catalonia, a case similar to that of Flanders llyÑespecially since the Dutch-language in the PEN centers questionnaire. Schwerpunkt at the Frankfurter Buchmesse in 1993, and the start of the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch *%(K_\E\k_\icXe[j Litera ture in 1991, that is actively promo- Bas Pauw, Foundation for the Production ting Dutch literature abroad. and Translation of Dutch Literature, Am ster- Despite this relatively low profile of dam Dutch literature throughout the world, the spread in number of languages is KiXejcXk`fef];lkZ_c`k\iXkli\`ekf quite large. It is hard to think of a major fk_\icXe^lX^\j language in which no translation of a Although a huge repair move was made in work of Dutch literature is available. The the past fifteen years, and although the Diary of Anne Frank is probably one of the situation is very different in a lot of most widely translated books of the world. countries, Dutch authors are in general still Dutch philosophers Erasmus and Spinoza relatively invisible in the inter national Re- are also well-known worldwide, but they public of Letters. Exceptions can and should wrote in Latin rather than in Dutch. 50 51 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe KiXejcXk`fef]nfibj]ifdfk_\i ary jobs. The job done by the literary trans- Ð the WritersÕ Program, supporting publishers who wish to publish a contem- c`k\iXkli\j`ekf;lkZ_ lator is not always mentioned in reviews Dutch authors appearing abroad (liter- porary work of foreign literature (unless It is difficult to know the percentage of lit- of translated fiction, unless in a negative ary festivals, stages and promotion they turn to similar institutions abroad, erary translations from other languages sense. tours); such as the Goethe Institut/Inter Nationes, among the books published each year in Our leading writers are scarcely pro- Ð the VisitorsÕ Program, in which 8 to 10 Svenska Institutet etc.). the country. There are no exact, recent fig- ducing any literary translations themselvesÑ publishers per year are invited to come There is however support for translators ures about this relation. The last year for this was different in the sixties and seventies. to Amsterdam for a few days and meet who are translating a work of literature which reliable and detailed figures were There are leading poets who also produce Dutch literary publishers; into Dutch: they can apply for translation published, was 1996. In that year, 651 works poetry translations. Ð organization of literary manifesta- grants and travel grants. An average trans- of Dutch fiction were published: novels, tions abroad, to raise the international lation grant amounts to 2,500 per 30,000 stories and novellas. In the same year 774 =`eXeZ`Xcjlggfik]fikiXejcXk`fe visibility and profile of Dutch authors; words, depending on the quality of the works of translated fiction were pu blished The financial support for translating Du- Ð English-language publications in translation and the quality of the original by Dutch publishers. Detectives and tch literature is provided by the above which new Dutch literary titles are pre- work. The grants complement the fee the thrillers are not included in these figures. mentioned Foundation for the Produc- sented: Books from Holland and Flanders, translator gets from the publisher, which These figures are provided by the Stichting tion and Translation of Dutch Literature, Quality Non-fiction from Holland and is a standard fee of 0,059 Euros per word. Speurwerk betreffende het boek (Founda- based in Amsterdam and funded by the ChildrenÕs Books from Holland; these are These translation subsidies are issued by tion for Book Research), based in Amster- Ministry of Culture and Education. published twice a year; the Foundation for Dutch Literature, a dam (www.speurwerk.nl). It can normally The Foundation actively promotes Ð a good, informative and up-to-date different foundation that also provides be quoted a number of 45% of translated Dutch literature abroad and provides website, where all kinds of inform- grants for authors. For more information: fiction, related to original fiction. financial support for foreign publish- ation can be found on Dutch liter- www.fondsvoordeletteren.nl Translated works may enjoy a little ers wishing to publish a work of Dutch ature and where a large database of all more prestige than literature written in literature. This involves fiction, quality trans lations of Dutch literature can be 8ZZ\gkXeZ\f];lkZ_ni`k\ijXYifX[ Dutch originally. This may have to do with non-fiction, poetry and childrenÕs liter- accessed; The dominance of Anglo-Saxon literature the fact that translation of foreign litera- ature. Provided a few conditions are met, Ð the Foundation runs a TranslatorsÕ in the international book trade is obvious ture works as a filter: only the best makes the Foundation can subsidise up to 70% of House where five translators of Dutch and seems to be growing still. For the it to the Dutch market, in translated translation costs. These conditions have literature at a time can live and work for Dutch market this means that publishers form. Yet in recent years the Dutch seem to do with the quality of the literary work a period of one or two months at the in- are more inclined to publish the umptieth to realise that their literature is not neces- at hand, the quality of the translator and vitation of the Foundation. The Transla- representative of English-language chick sarily of much lesser quality than the ÔbigÕ the quality and stature of the publisher. torsÕ House also organises regular work- lit than a German masterpiece novel. This international literatures surrounding This translation policy is the body of our shops for literary translators, devoted mechanism is certainly visible in other themÑsuch as the French, the German or support program; there are a few other to a specific target language and led by countries as well, and that would of cour- the English/American. ÒtoolsÓ that we use and that are strongly an experienced translator, with the aim se diminish the opportunities for Dutch Literary translation is considered neither linked to this: of sharing experiences and promoting literature being translated elsewhere. an art nor a task, but rather a highly valued Ð presence at all important book fairs contact between translators. However, we do feel that foreign in- skill, as well as a profession. Many literary (Frankfurt, London, Bologna), an ex- More information on this policy and terest in Dutch literature is still risingÑ translators in the Netherlands can live cellent network with all publishers of the activities of the Foundation can be partly maybe as a result of the efforts from their work, although the revenues literature worldwide and a strong com- found at www.nlpvf.nl. made in the past twelve years. Major pub- are not too great; many translators in other mitment to maintain and extend this As for support for translation into lishers in countries like France, Germany, countries have to have other supplement- network; Dutch: there is no support for Dutch Italy, Scandinavia are proud to publish 52 53 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe Dutch authorsÑnot singular novels, but It opens up the ÔInternational Republic The work of eminent Dutch novelists of Martinus Nijhoff, was highly impressed their oeuvre. In Eastern European coun- of LettersÕ to the author. There is the pos- Louis Couperus (1863-1923) and Simon and he included one of NijhoffÕs longer tries there seems to be a growing resist- sibility of a review or being noticed in one Vestdijk (1898-1971) has scarcely been poems in his famous crash-course of must- ance to the dominance of English in lit- of the magazines through which the Re- translated into other languages, and by read international poetry: Ôthe stunning erary translation, and some publishers public communicates: the Times Literary small publishers only. AwaterÕ. are more interested in translating from Supplement, the New York Times Review of Post-war Dutch literature is dominated One can be a little more at peace with smaller European literatures. New and Books, the New Yorker etc. by the ÔGreat ThreeÕ: Willem Frederik Her- the fact that Leopold is hardly translated, exciting markets such as China and (to Quite a few Dutch-language books have mans, Gerard Reve and Harry Mulisch. In given the fact that his poetry seems almost a lesser extent) India are showing great been published in the UK and US in re- addition to these, Cees Nooteboom, Jan impossible to translateÑso much so that interest in all foreign cultureÑincluding cent years: works by, among many others, Wolkers and Hella Haasse are often men- Robert FrostÕs somewhat exaggerated state- Dutch literature. Tim Krabb, Arthur Japin, P.F. Thomse, tioned. Of these, Nooteboom, Mulisch, ment that Ôpoetry is what is lost in transla- It can be said that in the present inter- Peter Verhelst, Renate Dorrestein. Dutch Wolkers and Haasse are quite well trans- tionÕ suddenly seems true. LeopoldÕs poetry national climate it is almost impossible quality non-fiction has been particularly lated. The works of Hermans and Reve deals almost ex clusively with the possibili- for a literary author writing in a smaller successful in recent years. But very few of however are hardly translated at all; and ties and the boundaries of the Dutch lan- language to find an international reader- the important authors writing in Dutch yet there is no doubt that their work guage; comparable maybe to the way ship on his or her own strengthÑwith- today have found a ÔhouseÕ, in the sense ranks among the best literature written in James JoyceÕs FinneganÕs Wake investigates out a powerful literary agent, or without of an English or American publisher that the 20th century. It is only now (ten years the English language. an institution that is providing financial will publish their oeuvre and their next after his death) that German and English support and a certain context, and draws work: maybe only Cees Nooteboom, Harry translations of HermansÕ work are being international attention to the book or the Mulisch, Hugo Claus, Margriet de Moor. published, with reasonable success. The *%)8i^\ek`eX author in the first place. exquisite prose of Gerard Reve (often con- Gabriela Adamo, editor and director of the ;lkZ_c`k\iXipnfibjnX`k`e^]fi sidered to be ÔuntranslatableÕ), who has a Buenos Aires Book Fair ÒPublisherÕs WeekÓ, K_\`dgfikXeZ\f]Y\`e^kiXejcXk\[ kiXejcXk`fe huge following in the Netherlands and Fundacin Typa, Buenos Aires `ekf This would be unthinkable today. The American publishing houses and, in an increased presence of small publishers related to the great number of immigrants military dictators and economic crises particular, the indifference of the govern- (that had previously been virtually unable who gave shape to todayÕs population of that devastated Latin America over dec- ments of these countries to cultural mat- to find a space for presenting their books) Argentina and who have kept in touch ades eventually led to the ruin of local ters, has had much to do with the fact that and obliged the Òbig fishÓ to focus more with their languages of origin over several publishers, while SpainÕs recovery and the aforementioned golden age should have on local production (contracting more generations without hurrying into a Uni- its entry as a full member into the Euro- undergone such drastic transformation. writers, translators, correctors, etc.). ted-States style melting pot. Here the pean Economic Community meant that However, this is, perhaps, the place to In this situation, buying translation different groups have cherished their it would become a new leaderÑat least assert that not all is lost, that ArgentinaÕs rights and translating within Argentina traditions and maintained their customs in commercial termsÑin the world of literary and publishing domains are once again became an attractive option, for a long time, forming clubs, schools Spanish-language books. In the domain still notable for their great vitality, both as the statistics reveal. Of the 16,638 titles and even Òtheir ownÓ hospitals, thus of translating, the competition is very in terms of quality and their degree of published in 2004, 2,318 were transla - fostering respect for, and curiosity about, lopsided because Spanish companies not sensitivity. This is a field that needs work tions. This is almost 14%. The most trans- what was thought and written in their only have more resources (the devalued and support through long-term intel- lated language is evidently English (with countries of origin. currencies of different Latin-American ligent projects, but there is still time 1,139 titles), followed a long way behind by Thanks to these readers who, because countries compete with the euro when for a very good response to this kind of French (331), German (207) and Japanese of their family situations, grew up in the bidding for translation rights) but they stimulus. (147). It is surprising that Japanese should habit of reading in two languages or at are also geographically and Òpsycho- The Argentine publishing market is be ahead of Italian (a scant 116 titles) if one least hearing them in their everyday sur- logicallyÓ closer to their English, French shaped by a few big transnational houses recalls the close cultural bond that has roundings, a lot of good translators have and German peers. and an increasing number of independ- always existed between Argentina and appeared. Similar conditions hold in reverse. In ent undertakings with variable future Italy. Yet, in general, this is a rich and Argentina has a considerable list of evaluating what books originally written possibilities. There are still a few medium- varied field since the list of translated lang- writers who, at some point in their car- in Spanish might be translated, many scale companies and these, as has already uages is very long, including Danish, Hindi, eers, also engaged in translation. Jorge first-world publishers turn to Spanish happened in Europe and the United States, Basque, Hebrew, Czech and even Chinese2. Luis Borges is, without a doubt, the most catalogues and critics. It is not surprising, are destined to be swallowed up, sooner famous of these. To him we owe FaulknerÕs then, to note how desperate Latin- or later, by one of the Òbig fishÓ. KiXejcXkfij#Y\kn\\egi\jk`^\Xe[ Las palmeras salvajes (The Wild Palms) and American writers are to see their works The Òbig fishÓ dominate the market, `em`j`Y`c`kp KafkaÕs La metamorfosis (Metamorphosis), published in Spain, which they regard as which is why their business policies enor- The Argentine reader does not shrink among other versions. Jos Bianco, Victo- the only real gateway into the inter- mously influence the existing offer. Un- from translations but, on the contrary, ria Ocampo and Mara Rosa Oliver belong national world. til 2001, before the devaluation, it was has always admired and felt close to to the same generation. The tradition Whatever Latin AmericaÕs level of cul- very easy for them to import books from foreign literature, especially that coming is still alive today with writers like Csar ture, a great number of people in the Spain, which meant that the offer was from Europe. In fact, as the writer and Aira, Marcelo Cohen and Esther Cross, in- international publishing world still see it ample and varied (though of course the translator Marcelo Cohen has noted, Òthe ter alia. The importance of having trans- merely as the big backyard of Spain. This is bookshops were flooded with books and fact that some first-rate international wri- lators who are at once major references in not the place to go into all the ins and remaindered items that could not be sold ters sell better in Argentina than in Spain the cultural domainÑand who therefore outs of the question or to gauge the degree in the metropolis). After the devaluation (Ian McEwan and Bernhard Schlink, for awaken interest in the authors they trans- of responsibility of each party in creating and the new exchange rates these books example), suggests that tradition survives lateÑis very well described in Patricia Will- this situation. There is no doubt that the became extremely expensive and the im- in the form of the independence of local sonÕs book La Constelacin del Sur. There is low professional standards that for many ports stopped at once. This created a kind readers vis--vis international mandatesÓ. also a strong link between translation, years were the order of the day in Latin- of natural zone of protection that enabled One might imagine that this is closely literary criticism and academia. Almost 56 57 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe all todayÕs translators of literary texts or the pretext of economic problems while that this is the ultimate goal because, af- appeared in recent years, which offer rea- essays are highly trained and they spend they were covered up by the fact that journ- ter this, possibilities for all the other lan- sons for minimal optimism: a good part of their time in the university alists and cultural critics turned a blind guages are opened up. or engaged in their own lines of research. eye to the effective, material importance For any writer, translation of his or 1) The work of a group of publishing It is clear that nobody regards translation of translationÓ. her work is very important. It makes companies that have created a joint as a mechanical activity. them known outside the country, brings foreign rights office called LetrasArgen- Though it might seem logical to think CXZbf]jkXk\jlggfik in some extra income, confers prestige tinas. They have produced their first that translators should have a privileged To this we might add the almost zero and confidence to keep on writing and catalogue with a view to publishers position in ArgentinaÕs cultural milieu, support given by the state to publishing publishing, and makes travelling possible in other countries, have attended the this is far from being the case. Here, trans- activities so that there are very few sub- along with contacts outside the country, Frankfort Book Fair and are organising lators fulfil to the letter the mission of sidies for writers and publishers in the among other benefits. If these results are other promotional strategies. making themselves invisible, not existing country and none at all for translators. essential for anyone, they are even more and not pestering. They are hardly ever Neither are there prizes or competitions so for artists who work in peripheral 2) The programme ÒSemana de Edi- mentioned in the book credits (and never of any kind that might represent some countries like Argentina. toresÓ (PublishersÕ Week), which is or- on the cover) and there are very few biblio- sort of encouragement, if only Òpsycholo- Perhaps the difficulties in achieving ganised by the TyPA Foundation. Four graphic notes that even mention their gicalÓ. On certain occasions, this absence these translations can be summarised in years ago, it began an annual tradition names. Neither do the critics include in has been explained away by the fact that the fact that Latin-American publishers do of inviting ten international publishers their texts any evaluation or commentary translations involve long processes, while not have foreign rights departments. In to Buenos Aires so they can gain a first- about the quality of the translation3. local public policies and marketing stra- other words, nobody is systematically oc- hand acquaintance with Argentine lit- The situation is even more serious when tegies are geared to seeking high impact cupied with international promotion in erary life in the hope that they would it comes to working conditions. In gen- in little time. This explanation obviously the publishing houses. Neither are there then actively promote translation of eral, translators are very badly paid, they do has nothing to do with any truly cultural any high-powered literary agents working Argentine works on their return to not sign contracts with their publishers evaluation. in the region. The most important agents their countries. or, if they do, they must accept very tough This lack of support is also confirmed in are in Spain. In general, this is due to the conditions such as ceding authorÕs rights. efforts to make Argentine writers known fact that the overheads of this work are Both initiatives are long-term wagers This means that the publisher can reprint outside the country. For a start, there are very high and the results minimal. It is and full of difficulties but there is no the translation as often as deemed neces- no statistics about books by our writers possible that a Òcultural questionÓ is also doubt that specific activities such as these sary, or sell it to be used in other countries translated into other languages. There are at work here since it is not customary to are the only really effective ways to make or in other formats without the translator only incomplete lists produced by people promote our own products seriously and the literature of a country known in the receiving any payment at all. or institutions concerned and they are for any sustained period of time. Needless rest of the world. The hope of those of us In Argentina there is no translatorsÕ un- always limited to more or less direct con- to say there is no organic, state-organised who are working at this is that there will ion or association that might struggle for tacts. What appears to be the case is that, activity of international promotion that soon be more translations of ArgentinaÕs these rights so there is little hope that the of the few Argentine works that have been might compare with what is being done classic twentieth-century writersÑRober- situation will change in the near future. translated, the majority have appeared in Brazil and Mexico (translation subsidies to Arlt, Rodolfo Walsh, Leopoldo Marechal, Marcelo Cohen asserts that translators in French and Portuguese (in Brazil) and and travel grants for authors, etc.). Silvina Ocampo, Antonio Di Benedetto, Òhave always been quite badly treatedÓ. then, perhaps, in German or Italian. The Juan Jos Saer, to mention only a fewÑand This situation became worse in the general perception is that it is very diffi- E\n`e`k`Xk`m\j of those who are now at the peak of their 1980s and 1990s when Òmistreatment and cult to break into the Anglophone mar- I should like to mention two exceptions, productionÑMarcelo Cohen, Rodolfo Fog- slackness became even more rife under ket although of course everyone agrees in the form of new initiatives that have will, Abelardo Castillo, Hebe Uhart, Eduardo 58 59 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe Belgrano Rawson and others. As for the ensures that its influence in all spheres is ly publish their new books in both Catalan as a bridging language but there is no younger writers, there are many promis- very great. and Spanish. Moreover, towards the 1990s, reason to believe that books translated ing people among them. The best way to A significant factor in the situation of some publishers that normally published into English have subsequently led to any confirm this is to walk around the always- the book in Catalan is the fact that the in Catalan began to produce simultaneous interest in Catalan literature in other lan- abundant Buenos Aires bookshops. publishing industry, both in Catalan and Catalan and Spanish versions of the works guages, as is confirmed by the example in Spanish, has traditionally been con- of their authors. of the translation of Tirant lo Blanc into centrated in Catalonia, and especially in Only a few contemporary Catalan writ- English. Although the English version of *%*:XkXcfe`X Barcelona. Barcelona is the major publish- ers among those who are most translated this classic chivalresque novel led to an in- Carme Arenas and Simona Sˇkrabec, trans- ing centre, not only in terms of publica- into Spanish also have an international direct translation into Finnish, no other lators and members of the Catalan PEN Center tions in Catalan, but of also Spanish let- presence, such as Merc Rodoreda. Ap- Catalan writer has been translated in Fin- ters in general. pearing on the Spanish scene is no guar- land. All the other translations of Tirant Catalonia, with approximately seven mil- antee of international renown. Neither lo Blanc have been done by people with a lion inhabitants, is an autonomously gov- KiXejcXk`fef]:XkXcXec`k\iXkli\`ekf is the reverse always true, since a work good knowledge of Catalan language and erned country within the Spanish State. JgXe`j_ might be translated into other languag- literature, who have not needed to work The language of the territory, and now its It is not surprising, then, that many Cata- es with very little or no resonance in the with a bridging version in another lang- official language, is Catalan (a foundatio- lan publications end up in Spanish trans- other languages of Spain (like in the cases uage. French and German translations of nal Romance language of the European lation. According to the Index Translation- of Baltasar Porcel and Jaume Cabr). Con- Catalan literary works, however, brought imaginary), which coexists in a bilingual um, of all the translations from Catalan, trary to what might be expected, Spanish out by major publishers, have given sig- system with the official language of Spain, 91% are into Spanish. According to TRAC5 does not function as a springboard for the nificant momentum to the promotion of Castilian4. Although the population of Ca- files, a little over 200 titles from all genres introduction of a book into the literatures Catalan literature in other languages. talonia is small, Catalan is the most widely- were translated from Catalan to Spanish of other languages. Neither does transla- Many translators of works written in spoken minority language in Europe, since between 1998 and 2003. There are more tion into Spanish mean that a work origi- Catalan have become ambassadors for Cata- it has more than twelve million potential literary works translated into Spanish nally written in Catalan will necessarily be lan literature in their own countries. With speakers if the population of the Valencia than into all the other languages put accepted as part of the Spanish-language their work as translators or as university region and the Balearic Islands (within together. By far the greater part of prose literary system. teachers they have decisively contributed Spain), North Catalonia (in France), Alguer works translated into Spanish is published towards the introduction of Catalan liter- (in Sardinia), and Andorra (an independent in Catalonia. KiXejcXk`fef]:XkXcXec`k\iXkli\`ekf ature into other cultures. These translators country with Catalan as its only official lan- Translations into Spanish represent only fk_\icXe^lX^\j always work directly from the Catalan and guage) are included in the count. part of the Catalan literary canon. Transla- Between 1998 and 2003, books written their translations are being introduced The inhabitants of Catalonia know tions of the classical writers are few and far in Catalan were translated into twenty- into more cultures as new specialists dis- both languages, in particular in recent between, while modern classics account four different languages. If we confine cover the Catalan literary heritage. years when the official status of Cata- for 23% of translations into Spanish. This ourselves to translations of Catalan liter- A change in promotional strategies, lan in schools has meant that almost all means that the greater part of translations ary works that are included in the TRAC however, is highly visible with narra- the countryÕs youngest inhabitants are into Spanish consists of works by living archive, it is a notable fact that English tive. Both private publishing houses and equipped with oral and written linguis- writers (77%). In many cases, these are au- scrapes into third place after French and public initiatives launch specific literary tic skills. It also means that the two lan- thors of childrenÕs books, genre novels and German. Among recent literary transla- works, novels or, sometimes, short sto- guages are constantly influencing one people with a high media profile. Again, tions we find, furthermore, quite a lot of ries collections onto the international another. However, the fact that the official there are writers who engage simultan- books in English, although published in scene which are solid enough to function language of the Spanish State is Castilian eously with both literatures and who usual- Catalonia itself. The aim is to use English without knowing the cultural context in 60 61 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe which they were created. In this case liter- number of publishing houses that brought tige among scholars. To this circumstan- contract), and all this within an economy ary works act as true ambassadors. The nov- out works in this language. In the 1960s very ce we need to add the media fanfare that where the cost of living has risen sharply els of Merc Rodoreda were the first to offer few publishers brought out books in Cata- accompanies most best-selling writers in due to SpainÕs increased integration into a new and different image of Spain to many lan, while the rest published only todayÕs globalised world. the world economy.Ó7 These poor condi- readers around the world, but many other in Spanish. The democratic transition gradu- Awareness of the importance of the lit- tions of work for translators are still a rea- emblematic works have followed the same ally established, though not without difficul- erary legacy from other cultures for the lity in Catalonia today. way; the civil war portrayed in Jess Mon- ties, a situation of normality where it can be enrichment of oneÕs own culture is very This does not mean that the translation cadaÕs The Towpath, translated into around said that the Catalan language has consoli- present among translators and scholars in general is no longer regarded as pres- fifteen languages, or even Quim MonzÕs dated its niche in the Spanish book market. as well as in the daily newspapers, where tigious, but rather that two ways of work- short stories that show the dehumanized For the publishing business in Catalo- there are frequent articles about new ing as a translator coexist. Some transla- life of big cities. nia, books in Catalan represent 27% of all books from abroad being incorporated tions are seen as mechanical, and some In the sphere of literature aimed at a published titles, 15% of the total number into the literary scene. are put on a level with creative work and wider public, we find successful sales stra- of copies produced and 15% of the to- Although this has opened up the hori- considered as such by the general public. tegies, in particular when foreign publish- tal turnover (Informe de comercio interior zons towards many languages, with trans- Traditionally, Catalonia has had very good ers acquire translation rights for a work [Internal Trade Report], Gremi dÕEditors lators who have no need of any bridging literary translators, mainly writers or uni- that is seen as a best-seller in international de Catalunya [Publishers Association of language, there are still some languages versity professors. book fairs or when it is promoted as such Catalonia], 2004). One major factor in the and cultures that are missing in Catalan Since the 1980s and 1990s, with the in- by literary agents Ðas in the case of Cold increased number of books being pub- translation. There is quite a good presence troduction of university degrees in trans- skin, by Albert Snchez Piol. lished in Catalan was the introduction of foreign fiction, and even poetry, but lation, many graduates with a theoretical Apart from these two models of expor- of the language into the educational sys- this cannot be said of more philosophi- background have joined the ranks of lit- tation, in recent years we have also seen an tem, both as a subject to be studied and cal works or essays, which Catalan readers erary translators. Translation has become example of promotion abroad based on as the language of instruction. Literature continue to read in Spanish because they more and more professional, bringing the exportation of simultaneous antholog- represents around 20% of all publications do not appear in Catalan translation. about a standardization in the field, al- ical selections in a number of languages, in Catalan, which is comparable with the Literary translation enjoys great pres- though there is still no professional asso- but this seems to have had little effect. The situation of most other languages with a tige in the world of letters because, in this ciation of translators and the few existing distributional channels that these editions consolidated publishing sector. milieu, everyone is aware that foreign associations are not very solidly estab- have are too limited to arouse any interest Statistics are needed so that we might writers offer basic material for the evolu- lished. With the appearance of the 1987 among the general public and, in the case gauge the extent of the presence of uni- tion of Catalan language. Intellectual Property Law, translatorsÕ of poetry, anthologies can even constitute versal literature in Catalan. The TRAC rights were fixed and publishers now tend an extra barrier in the overall reception cat alogue offers figures pertaining to K_\C`k\iXipKiXejcXkfi6 to respect the contracts they draw up with of the poet. In any case, they serve more to Catalan works translated into other lang- ÒThe Spanish book marketÓ, writes Peter translators more or less seriously. prove the existence of a culture than to fa- uages, but there is no project of providing Bush, Òhas a tradition of being very open Normally, the translator appears in the cilitate the discovery of a literature. a detailed account of translations in the to translations. This fact, however, hides credits of the book and, in the case of fa- inverse direction. the conditions which have made it possi- mous authors, his or her name might also Le`m\ijXcC`k\iXkli\fek_\:XkXcXe ble for a great deal of translators to work appear on the cover. Translations tend to JZ\e\ K_\I\Z\gk`fef]KiXejcXk\[Nfibj for publishers used to publishing a lot of be reviewed in the media, in particular if After 1975, when the dictator Franco died, `e:XkXcfe`X translations. This tradition is based on the book is one of the canonical works of the number of titles published in Catalan In Spain, translated authors are very well tight deadlines, low pay, no pay-rises, and universal literature or if the author is well- progressively increased along with the received by readers and enjoy great pres- dreadful contracts (or sometimes even no known. Frequently the reviews mention 62 63 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe the name of the translator in the details grants for translations into Catalan, for ets are still far from being known in other to make itself known abroad, since the supplied about the book but little men- publishers and translators alike. countries. The Catalan essay is practically Spanish State has tended, and still tends, tion is made of the quality or otherwise In 2002, the Ramon Llull Institute (IRL) unknown abroad. Neither is there any to exhibit only Spanish-language culture of the translation. Translators see this as was created with the task of promoting Cat- knowledge of reference texts about works and literature outside the country. In re- a sign that their work receives little recog- alan literature in other countries. Each year that have been translated from Catalan. cent years some major publishing fairs nition. it provides grants to foreign publishers for Plays cannot be considered under this have shown interest in Catalan culture the translation of Catalan works and for in- heading because their international diffu- and publishing and have expressly invited >iXekjXe[fk_\i]fidjf]jlggfik itiatives related with promoting and mak- sion is based on stage productions rather Catalonia to be represented (Guadalajara The Government of CataloniaÕs policy inclu- ing Catalan literature known beyond the than printed texts. Indeed, contemporary 2004 and Frankfurt 2007). These fairs are des moves for strengthening the presence borders of the Catalan-speaking area Ðsuch Catalan playwrights have achieved a good very important in terms of providing of the Catalan language and for encour- as participation at the main international presence in theatres of other countries. openings abroad and as a platform for aging publishing, distribution and circula- book fairs, support for Catalan writers to In general, most of the works exported making Catalan literature better known. tion of books in Catalan (Linguistic stand- travel abroad (festivals, symposia, stages), have been books by contemporary writers Since their creation, both the Institute ardization law, 1986). In accordance with organization of literary events abroad, along with some twentieth-century clas- for Catalan Letters (Instituci de les Lletres this regulation, the Department of Culture English-language publications to promote sics. There is also a considerable number Catalanes, ILC) and Ramon Llull Institute has established different lines of financial Catalan titles and authors, and so on. of translations of works from the classical (Institut Ramon Llull, IRL) have always assistance to publishing in Catalan within period of Catalan literature, especially the been present at any cultural and liter- a framework of dialogue and cooperation K_\:XkXcXeC`k\iXip:XefeJ\\e]ifd novel Tirant lo Blanc, which might be seen ary events outside the country, acting as with representatives of the publishing sec- 8YifX[ as a key work in the European context of mechanisms for promoting Catalan liter- tor. In 2004, this financial assistance went Among the least developed areas in the its times. ature as well as receiving influences from to some 1,500 titles, or a little under 20% of Catalan literary system is that of literary In any case, it is a good thing to bear in other countries. all the books published in Catalan. criticism and, in general, theoretical at- mind one feature of exchanges between Apart from this support, the Depart- tention to the literary legacy of the coun- small literatures: there is rarely a second ment of Culture offers grants for Catalan- try. There is a solid academic body but the chance. An indifferently translated work *%+>\idXep language publications of special cultural results of university research hardly ever of Shakespeare can soon be replaced in Riky Stock, director of the German Book interest and financial assistance is also reach the wider public. At the other end of any corner of the world, but a poor trans- Office at New York conceded to entities for activities related the scale, the authors of reviews that ap- lation of Merc Rodoreda is unlikely ever with books, organisation of book fairs, or pear each day in the media have to confine to be corrected. It is therefore very impor- @ekif[lZk`fe participation in international book fairs. themselves to a space that rarely exceeds tant for translators to be able to work in German is spoken in Europe mainly in The Institute of Catalan Letters (ILC), cre- two pages written in an easy-to-read style. decent conditions in keeping with their Germany, Austria, and the German-speak- ated in 1987, is an autonomous body that The criticsÕ attention is strictly focused task, and with the facilities they need. ing parts of Switzerland. It surpasses every comes under the auspices of the Depart- on the latest publishing releases and any other language on the European con- ment of Culture. The Institute, the aim of overall view is notable in its absence. :XkXcfe`XËjGi\j\eZ\`ek_\ tinent, apart from Russian, in terms of which is to make Catalan-language works The other significant factor to bear in @ek\ieXk`feXc:fek\ok number of native speakers (95 million in and their authors better known, organises mind is the influence of the general ten- It was not until the last twenty-five years Europe, 120 million worldwide). It is the promotional campaigns and exhibitions dencies of the international literary mar- and the recovery of self-government with mother tongue for approximately 24% of and it has created several grants for liter- ket. As with other literatures, the main the reestablishment of the Generalitat the EUÕs citizens.8 ary creators, scriptwriters and scholars. Catalan export in the field is novels. The [Government] of Catalonia in 1980, that As most of the publishing houses, and Every year since 1993 it has announced most representative works of Catalan po- Catalan culture, too, has been able to start especially all the large houses, are based 64 65 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe in Germany and therefore most German- crease over 2004. Translations make up for which the legal argument over com- ten list. The list of the top 100 consisted language authorsÑincluding Swiss and just 7.9% of all new titles. In 2004, this pensation between publishers and liter- mainly of foreign titles. This clearly shows Austrian onesÑare published in Germany, number was 7.3 %. Compared with 1995, ary translators, who have been to court what a dominant role English lang- this report will concentrate on the German when translations were around 14.2%, over it, is partly responsible. Translations uage books play in Germany. Yet, the market and will often refer to German- the impact of translations in the past ten involve a certain amount of risk for atmosphere of the 1990s, when German language books from Germany, Austria, years has drastically declined. publishers while the royalty question is publishers were overbidding each other and Switzerland as German books. However, the worldwide advance of still unanswered. Only for translations and paying outrageously large amounts In Germany, where the year 2005 saw the English language cannot be stopped, from English have numbers increased. 13 of money in order to secure the rights to a 89,869 new titles produced and estimated especially not by the translations in the new John Grisham or lesser known Amer- resulting revenues of 9.16 billion Euros, German book market. More than 60% KiX[`k`feXe[Gi\jk`^\f]KiXejcXk`fej ican author, is over. In 2000, English titles reading is ranked eighth as a leisure ac- of all translated titles in 2005 came from Xe[Fi`^`eXc>\idXeNfibj accounted for 72 % of new titles, but by tivity after listening to music, watching the English. In 2004, this figure was at Translations had a place in German liter- 2005, that figure had dropped by to 61 %. TV, reading newspapers, going to restau- 56.8%. Apart from English, French is the ary and publishing history as early as the Reasons for this shift lay in the difficulty rants, partying with friends, barbecuing, second-most translated language. It has Middle Ages, and ever since the 18th cen- of making a profit when paying such large and driving the car.9 Germany has a popu- been in second place for years, albeit far tury, Germany has been known as a classic advances, and an overall drop in sales in the lation of 82.5 million.10 Approximately behind English at only 9.4%. While example of country for translation.14 Ger- German book market. To make up for this, 500 million copies are printed each year, English and French have long led the mans are very much aware of the fact that Germans have instead looked for and which averages out to about 6.5 books per rankings of the 20 most important there would not be an international liter- invested in publishing new German talent.15 German per year.11 translated languages, the other positions ary community without translations, and In the last couple of years, the role of This report provides information about shift from year to year. Italian ranked translations into German have even ena- German-language writers has increased. A the degree to which German writers are third for 2005 with 2.7%, but decreased bled some Eastern European writers to glance at the German bestseller lists shows being translated into other languages from 3.3% in 2004. Dutch, Spanish, and gain attention in the rest of the world. that books by young German authors are and to what extent literary translations Swedish are next with just over 2% each. Hungarian writer Imre Kertsz would not selling better and compete closely with from other languages enter the German Russian, in seventh place, holds only have received the Nobel Prize were it not young American writers, and not just in book market. It explores the perception 1.8%, followed by Latin, Greek, and Danish for the German translation, that gave terms of literary merit.16 A couple of years of translation and translators, the forms with less than 1% each. other countries access to his work. ago, English-language books very much of translation funding, and the promo- Translations for childrenÕs and young Because translations play an important dominated the German fiction list. In 2003, tion of German books. It looks at how adult titles are still important: 17.2% of role in the literary culture of Germany, all only 25% of the top 100 best-selling fiction the international climate has influenced all childrenÕs and young adult books are bookstores, even the large chains, stock titles were German.17 Now, between 30% the reception of German writers and how translations from other languages. In and display translated works. Magazines and 60% of the fiction bestseller lists are important but difficult it is to translate 2004, this figure was 17.7%. and newspapers also promote translations books by English-speaking authors and into English. It also provides examples of At a rate of 25.1%, fiction makes up to a wide reading audience by regularly about the same amount, around 30% to noteworthy German authors who have the largest share of translations. In 2004, featur ing and reviewing the latest titles. 50%, are books by German authors. 10% to not been translated into English. however, this number was much higher A 2004 survey of German readers found 25% are translations from other lan- at 40.5%. In total, 13.8% of all fiction titles that The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter g uages.18 KiXejcXk`fej`ek_\>\idXe9ffbDXib\k are translations. The previous year this and the SorcererÕs Stone ranked in the top To ensure this widerange of books, the Germany is the country with the most figure was 20.7%. ten all-time favorite books among Ger- German publishing community routinely translations in the world.12 Last year, 6,132 The role the translations have so far mans. Only one German book, Thomas organizes internationally oriented events translations were published, a 13.4% in- played in fiction has clearly diminished, MannÕs Buddenbrooks, reached the top like readings and appearances by foreign 66 67 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe authors. Many cultural organizations various authors and works by Federico Mschen to translate books by authors age of sales earnings starting with the first also promote literature from abroad by Garca Lorca), and Nobel Prize Winner like Elizabeth George and Patricia Shaw. copy sold. This share ranges between 0.5 providing funding for translations. These Elfriede Jelinek (GravityÕs Rainbow by It is also interesting to note that there and 2 %.22 measures help to increase the number of Thomas Pynchon). Interestingly note, are German publishers, such as Michael Some publishers criticized this court foreign titles that enter the German book W.G. Sebald, not a translator himself but Krger of Hanser Verlag, Alexander Fest decision, which in their eyes works to market, with special emphasis recently on always a promoter of German literature of Rowohlt Verlag, and Joachim Unseld of undermine the variety of the German book literature from Africa, Asia, Latin America in the English-speaking world, founded Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt, who have also market. By forcing publishers to pay the and Eastern Europe.19 Fixed book pricing the British Centre for Literary Translation. translated books or poems. translators a percentage of the profits, in Germany also helps guarantee this va- Today a new generation of German Currently, publishers and translators German publishers argue that this will de- riety because it eases the competitive pres- authors is emerging and has continued are engaged in an ongoing debate over the crease the resources they could have used sure and allows small publishing houses its predecessorsÕ work to bring influen- imbalances regarding the required train- to publish other books. As a result, some to take bigger risks. tial books into the German book market. ing for translators in Germany and the deserving books might not be published Acclaimed young writer Antje Strubel has compensation they receive from publish- or translated. The fact that there is a pub- C\X[`e^KiXejcXkfijXe[k_\8ikf] earned a solid reputation as a translator ing houses. The average literary translator lic discussion, however, shows that trans- KiXejcXk`fe for her work on The Year of Magical Think- does not earn enough money to make a liv- lators are becoming recognized. The over- As of the 18th century, eminent authors ing by Joan Didion, as did the winner of ing. They hardly make more than 15 to 20 all situation for translators has improved, like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johann the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize Terzia Euros per page gross with an average of 100 and some publishers have started provid- Gottfried Herder, and Rainer Maria Rilke Mora, who was born in Hungary, for her pages translated per month.20 Former Ger- ing translator biographies in their established the German literary scene as translation of Pter Esterhzy. man President Roman Herzog confirmed catalogues and putting the translatorÕs one open to books from other languages, Authors of all kinds participate in this in a speech once: ÒThat someone with name on the book cover. and this continues today. Inheriting the translating and often translate the same one of the most important jobs in todayÕs tradition of producing quality trans- genres they produce themselves. Mirjam cultural life cannot generally make a living Jlggfik`e^KiXejcXk`fejXe[ lations, some of GermanyÕs best writers Pressler, who is a widely known author of is fundamentally outrageous.Ó21 Gifdfk`e^>\idXe9ffbj have taken up the challenge of translating childrenÕs and young adult books, has also In a recent attempt to improve the situ- There are two different kinds of trans- works of literature, of essentially rewriting translated over 300 works for children ation for literary translators, a lawsuit on lation funding available: grants for which othersÕ books to bring them to a wider au- and young adults, including the diary of behalf of translators was filed against pub- publishers can apply and grants especially dience. These author-translators have in- Anne Frank. It is not uncommon for poets lishers. Translators involved in this ongo- for translators. For translations into Ger- fluenced and advanced the literary scene to translate each other. German poet ing lawsuit are claiming a share of the man, there are organizations and minis- twofold and have helped to shape the im- Ulrike Draesner, who translates poetry sales earnings from the books they trans- tries of culture located in the countries age of translation. In Germany, literary from English, also translates professionally. lated, a share they claim they are entitled in which the title originated, that offer translations are considered to be an art Sometimes translations even inspire new to regardless of the edition of the book. funding. Examples of such organizations form rather than a mechanical task. books to be written, as in the case of Ralf In the past, publishers have granted the include the IreCompany Literature Ex- In the field of contemporary literature, Dutli. After translating Ossip Mandelstam, translator a share of the sales profits only change in Ireland, the Polish Book Insti- some of GermanyÕs leading authors pro- Dutli then went on to write a complete in cases where the book was a bestseller. tute, and the Finnish Literature Information duce literary translations, among them Mandelstam biography. Translators achieved a small victory Centre (FILI) in Finland. These grants are Paul Celan (who has translated from 7 In the field of popular fiction, the when the district court in Munich decided usually offered only to publishers for the lang uages into German), Peter Handke bestselling author of historical fiction, that in addition to the initial compensa- translation of a specific title. (works by Shakespeare, Walker Percy, etc.), who writes under her pseudonym Rebecca tion for actually translating a book, trans- Austria, Germany, and Switzerland all Hans Magnus Enzensberger (poems by Gabl, uses her real name Ingrid Krane- lators were entitled to a certain percent- have programs to fund the publication 68 69 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe of German-language books in foreign Noteworthy because of its substantial Europisches bersetzer-Kollegium Nor- York, offices exist in Beijing, Bucharest, lang uages. The grants program of the influence in the field of translation is the drhein-Westfalen in Straelen e.V., Dialog- Moscow, and Warsaw. Each office serves as Goethe-Institut aims to bring important Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (LCB). The werkstatt Zug, and others offer fellow- a contact exchange and cultural mediator academic writing, high-quality fiction, LCB promotes German literature, adminis- ships, translation prizes, and exchange between the German book trade and that childrenÕs and youth literature, and ters both a writer- and a translator-in-resi- programs to translators. of the officeÕs host country.30 selected non-fiction works to a non- German- dence program, and serves as a center and The most effective practices in promot- The GBO, for example, is a non-profit speaking readership. Support is given by facilitator for translators. One of their pro- ing German literature are making personal organization that was founded in 1998 way of subsidizing the publisherÕs transla- grams offers a translation grant for pub- contacts, establishing networks, and main- to promote German books in the US. The tion costs. This program has been in place lishers interested in fiction from Middle taining a continuous presence in the pub- GBO is based in New York, where it main- for nearly 30 years, during which time the and Eastern Europe. It aims to diversify the lishing scene of another country. This helps tains active networks and personal con- Goethe-Institut has given financial sup- selection of books available to German to understand the market, exchange infor- tacts.31 It also provides information on port for the publication of about 4,000 readers by giving lesser-known books a bet- mation, bring people together, and facili- German titles of specific interest to the books in 45 languages.23 In Switzerland, ter chance of being read. Since 1993, LCB tate book deals. Simply pitching the perfect North American market. Pro Helvetia, the Arts Council of Switzer- has subsidized more than 250 titles.27 book to a suitable publisher is not enough. land, was founded in 1939 and subsidizes In addition to the programs available Books sell better when editors trust some- The Goethe-Institut the printing or translation of publi- for publishers, there are organizations one elseÕs opinion and feel that they will Goethe-Institut e.V. is the Federal Republic cations dealing with Swiss culture or Swit- that help give translators a voice within the continue to get support once the book has of GermanyÕs most important operational zerlandÕs cultural relations with other literary sphere of Germany, Switzerland, been published. There are several initiatives partner for the development and imple- countries.24 In Austria, the Arts Division of and Austria. There are several membership that promote German books abroad: ment ation of foreign cultural policy. In ad- the Austrian Federal Chancellery offers fi- associations and non-profit organizations dition to running a program for transla- nancial assistance for translations.25 that support those who translate from or The Frankfurt Book Fair tion funding, the Goethe-Institut is the There are also special programs avail- into German, such as the Verband deutschs- The Frankfurt Book FairÑorganizer of primary organization for teaching and able for publishers that subsidize litera- prachiger bersetzer (Vd) literarischer the book industryÕs most important inter- promoting German language and culture ture from certain regions, such as the und wissenschaftlicher Werke e.V. The Vd national trade showÑis an affiliated com- worldwide. The Goethe-Institut is repre- Gesellschaft zur Frderung der Literatur is an association of German-speaking trans- pany of the Brsenverein des Deutschen sented across the globe by a network of in- aus Afrika, Asien und Lateinamerika e. V. lators that was founded in 1954 to support Buchhandels, the German Booksellers and stitutes, Goethe centers, cultural associa- (Society for the Promotion of Literature the interests of translators.28 Publishers Association. The Frankfurt Book tions, and reading rooms. Some institutes from Africa, Asia and Latin America). This The most important support organiza- Fair also has an international department maintain libraries of German-language program promotes the translation into tion for literary translators in Germany that is committed to promoting German and other German- related materials. The German of culturally informative liter- is the Deutscher bersetzerfonds (DF) books for translation and helping to cre- 128 Goethe-Instituts outside Germany of- ary texts from various Third World re- (German translators fund), a non-profit ate networks in other parts of the world. fer selected book reviews on their websites gions, and enhances cultural under- organization based at the LCB, which Its international activities receive funding and organize readings, seminars, work- standing of societies that often receive offers fellowships and travel grants to from the German Foreign Office. shops, and exhibitions. Partners of the little inter national attention. The titles translators and organizes workshops and The Frankfurt Book Fair organizes Goethe-Instituts include public and private that this program supports have ap- seminars.29 showcases for German books at collective cultural institutions, the federal states, lo- peared only on a limited basis or not at The LCB, Vd and other institutions stands in more than 20 countries, and cal authorities, and the world of commerce. all in German, and originate from coun- such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, Deut- it has created several Book Inform ation The Goethe-Institut closely works with tries that are underrepresented in the sche Akademie fr Sprache und Dich- Centers across the world. In addition to translators and other cultural mediators. German market.26 tung, Deutscher Literaturfonds e.V., the German Book Office (GBO) in New Much of the Goethe-I nstitutÕs budget comes 70 71 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe from the German Foreign Office and the aggregates cultural and intellectual content While German literature has yet to have ing was viewed at that time as academic, German Press Office.32 from GermanyÕs leading publications. The quite the same impact in the UK or the US, serious, and indigestible.39 section ÒBooks this SeasonÓ is a selection of a steady stream of titles is making its way The new German novel, according to German Book Prize the most interesting and talked-about new into these English-speaking markets. the New York Times, it is Òless weighty, In order to promote eminent and literature. This increase is due in part to a few more exportable.Ó This generation is well -known names as well as relatively successful titles that managed to attract represented by Daniel Kehlmann, Julie Zeh, unknown yet talented German authors >\idXeC`k\iXkli\8YifX[ attention and introduce English-speaking Jenny Erpenbeck, and Ingo Schulze, who home and abroad, the Brsenverein des Ever since the 1980s, when publishers all readers to contemporary German litera- have all been influenced by the substan- Deutschen Buchhandels (German Booksell- over Europe discovered selling rights as ture. Among these titles are The Reader tial presence of American culture and lit- ers and Publishers Association) created the new source of income, Germany has suc- by Bernhard Schlink, thanks to Oprah erature in Germany today. This generation German Book Prize, which is modeled on cessfully sold titles abroad partly due to the WinfreyÕs enthusiastic praise, and The Emi- stands for narrative story telling, a long- the UKÕs Man Booker Prize. It recognizes constantly changing political climateÑthe grants by W.G. Sebald.36 missed quality in German literature, and the best German-language novel and was opening of Russia and China to the West or The increased interest in German litera- something they have learned from Amer- awarded for the first time in 2005 to Arno the economic boom in Korea. When one ture can also be explained by the change in ican writers. This has led to more curiosity Geiger for his novel Es geht uns gut. The market becomes saturated with German writing. The year 1989 marked the end of and exchange on both sidesÑas evidenced 2006 winner was Katharina Hacker for The titles, another market emerges. German East German literature, but the political by the remarkable success of the books by Have-Nots (Die Habenichtse).33 publishers are keenly aware of these trends upheavals marked a turning point for West Cornelia Funke.40 There are numerous other projects, initi- and focus on selling rights in accordance German literature as well. The end of post- ÒYounger Germans, writing in the atives, and websites promoting translation: with these changes. war literature was near, a genre that had countryÕs leading newspapers, have in- New books in German is a London-based jour- Sales of translation rights for works been dominated by writers such as Hein- filtrated their ranks and become vital nal, which features a selection of notewor- written in German have increased mod- rich Bll, Uwe Johnson, and Gnter Grass. conduits of new books. É At the leading thy books from Germany in a printed jour- estly but constantly over the last ten years. Their writing had been shaped by the war, edge of success abroad lie the writers. nal and on its accompanying website twice Markets like South Korea, China, and Tai- by the struggle with the Nazi past, and by a Once content to write for a small circle a year. Three thousand copies of the journal wan have taken a huge interest in Ger- strong moral impulse.37 When the Nobel of readers at home, they have tuned are distributed throughout the world.34 Li- man literature and have become some of Prize was finally awarded to Gnter Grass their antennae toward the rest of world, trix.de presents reviews and sample transla- the biggest buyers. European markets like in 1999, the windfall profit of this event fa- testing out ideas on publishers with an tions of contemporary German literature the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy have trad- vored a young generation of authors, eye toward eventual sales abroad. (New on their website. Over the last three years, itionally been open to German literature. named by the reviewers as Òthe grandsons York Times, December 20, 2005)Ó Litrix.de also ran special funding programs In perhaps the most surprising change of and granddaughters of Grass.Ó38 With the increasingly more internation- for translations into Arabic and Chinese.35 all, the UK and the US have begun to open This new generation of German al climate in Europe and Germany, a kind of The previously mentioned LCB also plays their literary doors to some of GermanyÕs writers turned its back on the writing multicultural literature has emerged that an important role in promoting German titles as well. of the post-war generation, as well as on reflects the changing cultural influences literature throughout the world. Other In comparison to the one-way street of the experimental, postmodernist, and in Germany. There are German-language such projects include www.lyrikline.org, English and American literature that has psychoanalytical writing of the Ô70s and authors who write from the perspective of an online platform that posts poems and benn in place for so long, a small path going Ô80s. Before this new kind of renaissance a particular hyphenated identity such as translations into various languages in text the opposite direction has materialized. in German literature, German publishers Terzia Mora, Zsuzsa Bnk, Rafik Schami, and audio formats, and www.signandsight. Literature translated from English still remember their attempts to sell rights to and, most recently, Saa Stanii. These au- com, the English version of the German on- plays a central role in the German book their authorsÕ work in other countries as thors have been discovered and embraced line cultural magazine Perlentaucher, which market and in GermanyÕs bestseller lists. a Òhumiliating experience.Ó German writ- by English language publishers.41 72 73 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe Currently, the national and interna- Recently, interest in German-language prerequisite for a fiction title to garner the In addition to titles that have never tional chances for ambitious German- literature has climbed, heightened by attention of Hollywood film studios. been translated, there are a vast number language literature are good, particularly successes like Daniel KehlmannÕs Vermes- Jutta Willand, rights director at Eich- of books that were translated and since many young writers no longer write sung der Welt and Arno GeigerÕs novel Es born AG, confirms the importance to published in the U.S. but have since gone for the limited market of their home geht uns gut. Many publishers have con- German writers of English translations: ÒIt out of print. Classics like The Silent Angel, countries, but want to succeed abroad. firmed this small trend reversal in the Eng- is very important for German authors to Heinrich BllÕs first novel, are no longer From the outset, they think about the lish-speaking sphere, but which must first have their books translated into English. available in bookstores. exportability of their book projects.42 be reflected in the statistics for next year.44 Not only does this allow them to enter Sometimes when a German author does the influential English-language market find an American publisher, the books >\idXeXlk_fij`ekiXejcXk`fe >\idXeC`k\iXkli\`e number of those new titles that have been and thus can be more interesting even His books are still forbidden in China but na lost, interests in learning Western culture translated into other languages, as far as from a political perspective. ICPC member widely translated into other languages, has been tremendous in China, and West- can be told from an extensive Internet Liao Yiwu is one of the dissident writers particularly since he got the prize in 2000. ern literature has been i ntroduced as a tool search, was less than 100 in 2003, and almost who now reaches new readers through Interest in Chinese literature is increas- to study Western culture and convey West- the same in 2005, though these were mostly the French and Japanese translations of ing and this should have something to ern values. Examples: with the introduction literary works. This means about 0.01% of his book Interviews with People from the Bot- do with ChinaÕs fast economic develop- of Marxism- Leninism into China in the Chinese books are being translated into tom Rung of Society. An English translation ment in the last decade. Penguin has now 1920-1930s, many Soviet or proletarian liter- other languages, and for literary works of some sections of the book also appeared opened an office in Beijing in order ary works were translated into Chinese; the figure is about 0.01%. This figure does in the U.S. magazine The Paris Review in to make contact with Chinese writers during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 not include Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, 2005, and which is now forthcoming from directly. to 1976, on the contrary, there was a total which also belong to Chinese literature in Pantheon in its entirety in an English According to an official report, exports halt in translation of Western literature; in the sense of Chinese as language. translation by Wen Huang. of Chinese publications has continued to the 1980s, a lot of Western modernist liter- China has the largest population in the Where the members of ICPC are con- increase. From 1997 to 2003, the volume of ary works were translated with the open- world and has a long literary tradition, cerned, about 10% of membership has nationwide book exports increased from reform police and modernization project; correspondingly it has many writers who been translated. Among the 190 members 2.2 million to 4.65 million copies, with the nowadays there is more commercial trans- produce many literary works each year. of ICPC today, about 20 writers have had turnover surging from US$9.27 million to lation following the authoritiesÕ market The official Chinese Writers Association their literary works translated into other US$18.67 million. Exports of newspapers economy policy. The Chinese government reported 6,128 members in 200550. But less languages. Since many of us live abroad in climbed from 200,000 to 800,000 copies, has also sponsored translation of the kind than 300 of those writers have ever had exile, we are translated at a higher rate with the value growing from US$150,000 to of Chinese literature that suits their politi- their work translated into any other lan- than most other Chinese writers. ICPC US$980,000. Even exports of electronic pub- cal propaganda. guageÑthat is, less than 5%. Many of the members include some good poets and lications increased from 907 to 37,534 piec- Therefore, China imports quite a lot of Chinese writers now being published in writers whose works have been translated, es, representing an increase in value from books from Western languages each year, English in the U.S. or in Europe in other such as Liu Binyan (died 2005) and Zheng Yi US$30,000 to US$270,000. Although the vol- though not all of them are translated. In European languages, for example, Mo (in the US), Yang Lian, Yo Yo and Ma Jian (in ume of periodical exports decreased from 2005, China imported all kinds of foreign Yan, Su Tong and Yu Hua, are members the UK), Liao Yiwu, Shu Yang and Wu Chen- 2.56 million to 2.21 million copies, the val- books or periodicals (about 553,644 titles of the official writersÕ association. How- jun (in China), Zeng Zheng and Ouyang Yu ue increased from US$2.68 million to 3.65 and among these 90,189 were literary and ever, there are thousands of other writers (in Australia), Wan Zhi (Chen Maiping in million.51 artistic works) mostly without Chinese who are not members of this official asso- Sweden), Jimbut (Feng Jun in Denmark), translations. However, more than a thou- ciation, particularly dissident writers who etc. The language their work is translated I\Z\gk`fef]]fi\`^ec`k\iXkli\ sand of the books are translated, even ac- have little or no opportunity to publish in into is primarily English, but they have also `e:_`eX cording to other sources.52 China. The works of these writers there- been translated into French, German, Regarding the reception of internatio- Foreign literature has always been more fore usually have even less of a chance to Swedish, Danish, Japanese, etc. Some of their nal literature, or more precisely Western popular in China than local literature, reach translators of other languages. Even work has won prestigious international literature, it is always connected to the Chi- and sells better. This is particularly true so, some of the dissidents have also had prizes, and has been listed as the most nese historical background, to its political now that China has carried out economic their works published abroad in Taiwan important work from China by The New situations and social changes, to reforms and opened to the world to try to or Hong Kong, and have even been trans- York Times and important media in Europe. its own literary tradition. In Chinese cultural catch up with international development. lated into other languages. Often their Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian is an honor- history, literature traditionally serves politi- Although China is a signatory to inter- works can get more attention as they de- ary member of ICPC. He has lived in exile cal purposes and so does literary transla- national copyright agreements, pirate scribe the true history and reality of China, since 1987 but has kept writing in Chinese. tion. Ever since the Opium War, which Chi- cop ies are a very common problem.53 76 77 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe Beijing has held international book relatively safe, particularly if they transla- not so well educated as before. They work translated. FLB also published a quarterly fairs for more than ten years now and has ted works that Marx or Lenin had praised more for commercial reasons than out of literary journal titled Chinese Literature in been attracting more and more in- and approved of such as Shakespeare, Balzac liter ary interest. However, some translators various foreign languages. There are also ternational interest. According to official or Pushkin, etc. Many translators during that are very professional and their translations several official literary magazines and government reports, the ratio of Chinese time were professors of the relevant lang- do have high literary quality, particularly publishing houses which contributed books bought at the Frankfurt Book Fair uages or had previously been writers or those published by traditionally good pub- particularly in publishing foreign liter- (that is, Chinese books that will be trans- poets themselves, such as Yang Jiang and lishing houses such Shanghai Foreign Lit- ary works in Chinese translations. Re- lated into other languages) to foreign Shen Congwen. The second reason was that erature Press, etc. Each yearÕs winner of the cently, the Chinese government also set language books bought at the fair to be the translations were usually of higher Nobel Prize for Literature will usually be up a foundation to issue grants to sup- translated into Chinese has changed from quality than todayÕs translation. The trans- popular in China and will immediately ap- port foreign scholars who translate Chi- 1:10 in the 1980s to 4:5 in recent years. lators of that time were good writers and pear in Chinese language. nese literary works into their language. However, this is an official report based on editors who could read the original and Unfortunately, the quality of literary In Taiwan, there is also a foundation the contracts signed at the Frankfurt Book were generally very well-educated. Balzac translations is very uneven nowadays. which supports the translation of Chi- Fair alone.54 was translated by famous trans lator Fu Some can be quite bad. I have seen many nese literature from Taiwan into other Generally, according to the same sour- Lei, and well received in China and certain bad examples in my quite wide reading of languages. As part of the proc ess of eco- ces, the ratio is still 1:10 if we refer to the Chinese French experts claim that Balzac Western literature in Chinese trans lation. nomic reform, the government provides total number of Chinese books being is even better in the Chinese translation Therefore, not many translators of literary less money in support of the translation translated into other languages and for- than in the original French. works have a national reputation as liter- of foreign literature into Chinese, since eign language books being translated into After the Cultural Revolution ended in ary writers any longer. If transl ation was foreign literature is always very success- Chinese each year. the late 1970s and China opened itself to once considered an art, now it is more a ful on the Chinese market and publish- the world through economic reform, the commercial activity. There are few success- ing houses usually earn money by pub- 8kk`kl[\jkfnXi[c`k\iXipkiXejcXk`fe general climate for literary writing grew ful literary writers or poets who will en- lishing foreign books. What the Xe[kiXejcXkfij more favorable. Interests in Western lit- gage in literary translation. On the other government emphasizes is the promo- The attitude toward literary translation erature are especially great among young hand, those who are less successful in their tion of a certain kind of Chinese litera- changed remarkably in China in the generations. But, literary translation is not own literary writing may do some good ture in the rest of the world. As men- decades following the Cultural Revolution so prestigious nowadays as before. Again, work in translation. For example, Li Li, a tioned above, the Chinese government of 1966-1976. Before then, particularly there seem to be two reasons for this. The poet living in Sweden, also a member of sent a big delegation to the Frankfurt after the Communist Party took power in first is that translation has become far too ICPC, is not at all famous as a Chinese poet, Book Fair in 2005, and according to gov- mainland China in 1949, literary trans- commercialized. Many books are translat- but his trans lation of Swedish poet Tomas ernment sources, the ratio of Chinese lit- lators were highly respected. There were ed not for their literary value but because Transstrmer became a success and won a erature sold for translation into other two reasons for that: first, many good they are bestsellers in the West. The Da Vinci translation prize in 2005. languages to foreign language books writers and scholars at that time, particu- Code, for example, appeared in Chinese Because the Communist Party paid at- bought for translation into Chinese at larly those who were well educated and translation earlier than many other West- tention to propaganda, there was an that Fair reached 4:5.55 could read foreign languages, didnÕt dare ern languages. The Harry Potter books are official institute in Beijing as early as the For Chinese language writers, it is clear write their own literary works, fearing published in China almost simultaneously 1950s. The Foreign Language Bureau (FLB) that the international climate is much political persecution. In order to remain with their publication in the Western employed foreign experts to translate better today than before as far as their faithful to their literary interests, they countries. The other reason is that transla- Chinese literature into other languages chances of being translated into foreign turned to translating works of literature tors and editors are not always skillful users as a kind of propaganda. Only works ap- languages are concerned. Interest in Chi- from foreign languages, which were of the Chinese language and are generally proved by the government could be nese literature and other kinds of Chinese 78 79 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe books is increasing across the globe, along Jfd\iXe[fdZfdd\ekj an effort to develop all traditional societies And yet the cost of a translation is high with interest in other aspects of Chinese The Chinese case shows that translation of into modern societies. In this sense; that and its success never guaranteed. So how culture such as film and fine arts. It is also a literature can convey different values and water flows from higher to lower places can we explain this French success, and fact that the Chinese language is one of the interests. The choice of the different values does not mean unbalance, actually creates does a reciprocal one exist in the other five official languages of the United Nations, can be cultural or literary as well as social, a new balance. countries of the world, in particular the and its global reach makes more people political and commercial. One can make Literary translation itself follows the United States? seek to learn Chinese. For example, more the translation for personal values and social development and peopleÕs needs. It good translators are appearing in the US interests, which decide what kind of liter- is also important to keep a diversity of cul- Foreign literature in France who are able to translate Chinese into Eng- ature is translated (travels). Therefore, the tures. Diversity means that we should let lish while maintaining a high literary qual- question about making literature travel different values flow freely between areas JkXk\f]8]]X`ij ity. In Europe, almost every small language can be: making what kind of literature in the coordination I describe above. With This is easy enough to determine; one such as Swedish, Danish or Norwegian has travel? international support, we should try to only has to consult the catalogues of the translators who are doing good work with In a globalization context, there are de- break the barrier between them, no different French publishers, from the lar- Chinese literature. Some of them translate bates about different values. Some people matter if these barriers are natural (from gest groups to the smallest houses, and from the English translation. emphasize universal values, and some language perspective) or artificial (po- the state of affairs is plain to see: almost It is always important to have good people emphasize different values, for litical reasons). Internet will help to over- a third of the literary works that have ap- literary works translated into other lang- example, claiming ÔAsian valuesÕ. In the come the barriers. peared in France are translated from a uages, and most particularly into English. post colonialist perspective, or in the foreign language. Since 1996, in each new To increase the mutual understanding of perspective of so-called Western cultural literary season (from the end of August different cultures and literatures is Inter- hegemony or cultural imperialism *%-=iXeZ\ to the end of October) the proportion of national PENÕs task, as stated in its charter. (Edward Said), or in the perspective of Anne-Sophie Simenel, Program Director, novels translated from a foreign language For ICPC members, it is even more impor- what I have called Ôcultural hydraulicsÕ, Cultural Services of the French Embassy in to French has varied between 39.5% (1996) tant to have their works translated into there are some values taking advantage New York and 32.2% (2005).56 other languages. ICPC members are most- of being in high positions, like water In the lead is English (all the Eng- ly dissident writers in China, and their flowing from high places to lower places. For some time now the French and for- lish-speaking countries together), with, works are banned for political reasons, This is often reflected in literary trans- eign literature sections have been sit- for the whole of 2004, 240 literary titles though some of those works have very lation, particularly in quantities. However, ting side by side on the shelves of French purchased out of a total of 430Ñin other high literary quality and significance. If this is not necessarily negative in my bookshops in almost equal proportion. words more than halfÑwith a clear pre- those works are trans lated into other lan- opinion. They reveal a diversity and an eclecticism dominance of American titles (153, or guages, particularly English, and receive International PEN emphasizes universal that show, year after year, the opening of one third of acquisitions of works of lit- international recognition, that will, in values referring to human rights such as the French publishing scene to the world. erature, all languages together) over Brit- turn, influence Chinese readers. This is a freedom of expression but also stresses The fact that for more than 20 years ish titles (66).57 Far behind comes German, specific effect that the translation of liter- the diversity of different cultures. We publishing houses of all sizes have existed with 41 titles purchased, then Spanish ary work has in the Chinese context. ICPC should identify literature not only in which are based on a mainly foreign cata- and Italian with 24 and 23 acquisitions member Liao Yiwu is a good example. Af- space (horizontal), but also in time logue, such as Editions Actes Sud or Edi- respectively, Russian (19 works), Swedish ter his works are translated into other lan- (vertical); all cultures generally develop tions Philippe PicquierÑwhich mainly and Chinese (11 and 10 titles), and last, guages, particularly English and French, from tradition to modern. Thus, literary publish works translated from Asian lan- coming in close together, Japanese and his influence among Chinese readers and translation is not only an effort to cross guagesÑadds further substance to this Dutch (7 titles each), Norwegian (6) and on Chinese literature will increase as well. different cultures horizontally, but also view. Portuguese (5). 80 81 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe I\Z\gk`fef]kiXejcXk\[nfibj France even before it had appeared in the on whose conclusions and advice the pub- to promote the quality of the translation of `e=iXeZ\ United States in January 2006. lishers depend. the foreign works published in France, thus However, a translation is a heavy financial In general terms, French publishers, es- supporting the development of foreign lit- burden and requires a major investment pecially where American literature is con- Translators erature on the French publishing scene. in terms of time. Indeed, if one takes a cerned, tend to be on the lookout rather The first point then is the quality of the translatorÕs average rate as 20 Euros a page than just waiting. works chosen. The second, and by no CNL financial aids of 1500 characters (we will return to this means the least, is the quality of the trans- The Centre National du Livre (CNL), or Na- in more detail later), we need to calculate K_\i\XjfejY\_`e[k_\jlZZ\jj]lc lators and of their work. tional Book Centre aid programme for over 2,500 Euros as advance payment for fg\e`e^lgf]=i\eZ_glYc`j_`e^ In France, that quality is endorsed by translation, has been available to French the translation of a work of 200,000 charac- kfk_\nfic[ the status of the translator, whether lit- publishers wishing to publish translated ters (about 150 pages), which adds consid- erary or technical, who is regarded as an works for many years. The subsidy finances erably to the final retail price of the book. Publishers and specialised readers author, a professional whose rights and between 50% and 60% of the total price of Moreover the periods of time are long and Although not all publishing houses func- obligations are guaranteed by various as- the translation. several years may go by between the sign- tion according to that same model, it is sociations and trade unions. To be eligible, the publisher has to sub- ing of a contract for the sale of rights and interesting to make a brief analysis of the As for the payment, here are the stipu- mit a dossier including a sample of the the actual appearance of the work. working of Actes Sud, which has recently lations of the Code des Usages de la Traduc- translation (about 20% of the work), and But as the figures given above show, won the Prix Goncourt, the most prestig- tion Littraire (Literary Translation Code), the dossier will be judged, amongst other publishers take the risk despite every- ious French literary award, and counts signed in March 1993 by the ATLF, the SGDL things, on its quality. It is also indicated thing. These results are due to a combina- among its authors a Nobel Prize winner and the SFT for the first party, and the SNE that the contract between the translator tion of several factors, and French readersÕ whom it helped to discover, the Hungar- (National Publishing Union) for the other: and the publisher (which must be sup- equal interest in French and foreign lit- ian writer Imre Kertesz. Indeed, the policy payment for literary translations must be plied) must Òconform to the Code des Us- erature is no doubt due to the quality of of this house, which has based its cata- the object of an Òadvance payment on pro- agesÓ which we spoke about earlier. In the authors and works chosen, the quality logue on foreign works, is to entrust the portional authorsÕ rights whose amount other words, if the translatorÕs payment is of the translation and the amount of me- publishing of works translated from an- [...] depends mainly on the length and dif- less than 17 Euros, no aid will be granted. dia coverage of the works that appear. Let other language to collection editors who ficulty of the translation, and the compe- If it is between 17 Euros and 20 Euros, the us leave aside the first two factors since we are specialists in the original language. tence and fame of the translatorÓ. The unit publisher will receive 50% of the cost of shall be returning to them later, and sim- They are providers of works, editors and of calculation is the page of 25 lines of 60 the translation, and 60% above 20 Euros. ply note with respect to the third factor correctors of the translation if the need characters, paid on average between 19.50 This CNL subsidy programme thus the existence of columns about foreign arises. There is no doubt that the success of Euros and 21.50 Euros for translations from provides twofold assistance for the devel- literature in all the literary magazines, this house has been staked on its capacity English, between 21.50 Euros and 22.50 Euros opment of the publication of foreign lit- such as LIRE, Le Magazine Littraire, Livres to read the authors in the original. for translations from German, Italian and erature in France by supporting both the Hebdo or Le Monde des Livres. This model is applicable to many other Spanish, and between 21.50 Euros and 23.50 publisher and the translator. It goes without saying that foreign au- houses, to a lesser extent according to the Euros for other languages.58 That advance thors enjoy considerable prestige and a languages translated. If it goes without payment is set off against future authorÕs French literature abroad certain aura in France, perhaps even more saying that many French publishers read rights from which the translator benefits. than in their own countries. In Livres Hebdo English; this is clearly not so much the the The purpose of that framework, which JkXk\f]8]]X`ij of 1 July 2005, for example, Claude Combet case with other, less usual, languages, but recognises the work of the translator as a Global figures, buyer countries notes that Paul AusterÕs latest work, Brook- that does not mean that they are neglect- specific, autonomous profession, is to im- According to the survey Exchange of rig- lyn Follies, was published by Actes Sud in ed, thanks to the work of skilled readers, prove his material and social situation and hts (88 publishers) done by the Publishing 82 83 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe Exchange and the SNE in 2002, 4,698 tit- 90 French titles were sold in 2004, with the in France, such as Laurent Graf or Thomas Culture and the Foreign Ministry. For les (all fields together) were the object of a same figures for the United Kingdom and Gunzig. Lastly, the present tendency also example, through the Books and Reading sale of rights to foreign publishers for the the United States (42 titles each). We can applies to overseas French authors, such Department and the National Book Cen- purposes of a translation. The business fi- thus detect the most flagrant imbalance as Alain Mabanckou, whose novel African tre, the Ministry of Culture earmarks an gure for those rights was 106 million, an in the exchanges of rights with the United Psycho was published in 2007 by SoftSkull annual budget of almost 10 million Euros increase of 7.5% over the previous year. States, which for French publishers and Press; descendants of immigrants (for ex- in aide for the development and export of Two years later, according to the 2004 authors remains a publishing, and even a ample, the recent release of Kiffe kiffe French publications and the sale of rights National Publishing Union (SNE) external cinematic, El Dorado. demain by Faza Gune by Harcourt); and to French titles to foreign publishers. statistics, the number of titles sold had exiles or foreigners living in France (Les risen to 6,077, of which almost two thirds The reception of French authors in the Mots trangers by Vassilis Alexakis, a Greek The International French Publishing (1,817) were works of literature. A compar- world and the United States author who lives in France and writes in Bureau ison of the purchases and sales of rights If among the most translated French au- French was published in spring 2006 by BIEF is an associative structure that pro- for 2004 speaks for itself: France sells far thors in the world we find many from the Autumn Hill Books). motes French publishing abroad by attend- more literature than it buys, at the rate of mid 20th century such as Sartre, Camus, In the United States, even if the trade ing major events, but it is also engaged in 1 title bought for 4.2 titles sold. Malraux or Gide, we should not under- balance is unfavourable to France and study, market prospection and documen- If we break down these figures, we see estimate the importance of contemporary there are still great efforts to be made, tation and training of foreign profession- that the countries that are fondest of French ones. French publishing production is in a good als. With 250 members and the support of literature are France neighbours: Italy (157 Indeed, according to Lucinda Karter, di- position, with 0.8% of the total of Amer- the French Ministry of Culture and Com- titles bought), Spain (148, 165 for the Span- rector of the French PublisherÕs AgencyÑ ican production, of which 2.8% are trans- munication and the Foreign Ministry, it ish language as a whole), and Germany (117, the eyes and ears of International French lated works. In other words, about 30% has existed for 130 years. It also works in for the German language as a whole). Other Publishing Bureau (BIEF) in New York, of the works in translation in the United close cooperation with the SNE, the CELF countries with high figures are Greece (91), which represents certain French publish- States are from French language sources. and the Publishing Exchange. Rumania (91), Turkey (75) and Portugal (74, ers in the United StatesÑ, American pub- By carrying out 70 actions every year, plus 44 for Brazil). Eastern Europe is show- lishers Òwere more consumers of the great K_\gifdfk`fef]=i\eZ_c`k\iXkli\ the BIEF ensures the collective presence ing a strong interest in French literary pro- names of literature, of literary criticism, of XYifX[ of the works of French publishers at book duction; Poland took a good position with philosophy, of history, of sociologyÓ.59 And If, with the exception of the United States, fairs and salons all over the world, gener- 72 titles, followed by the Czech Republic to mention some of those great names: the sales figures for French literature alist events such as Frankfurt or specialist with 63 and, to a lesser extent, Yugoslavia, Althusser, Bataille, Baudrillard, Breton, speak for themselves, we must not forget ones such as Bologna, and at international Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovenia, Char, Deleuze, Duras, Ernaux, Furet, Glis- that they are the result of many different congresses, but also through exhibitions with 48, 38, 34, 31 and 25 works bought sant, Klossowski, Kristeva, Leiris, Le Roy initiatives by the publishers on the one of works by publishing field, exhibitions respectively. Lastly, we note that the Asian Ladurie, Levinas, Michaux, Nora, Perec, hand, and on the other, by the different that are frequently mounted in several countries are also good buyers, with 72 ti- Queneau, Ricoeur, Sagan, Serres, Sollers or people involved with books abroad, such towns and cities in the same country. tles sold to South Korea, 49 to China and 48 Todorov. But Ms Karter also notes a shift of as BIEF, the CNL and the French Embassies BIEF also organises exchange and to Japan. For the exchange of rights with all interest towards more contemporary fic- Book Services, notably in New York. training seminars abroad for profes- these countries, we see that the balance is tion such as works by Emmanuel Carrre, Among these initiatives we find a number sionals in the world of books. Some of tipped heavily in favour of France. Franois Cheng, Assia Djebar, Anna Gav- of aids, both for foreign publishers wish- them are held in France to coincide with However, that balance is reversed when alda, Camille Laurens, Amlie Nothomb ing to publish French works and for the Book Fair in Paris and at French pub- it comes to English-speaking countries. or Jean-Christophe Ruffin, and even an translators from French into a foreign lishing houses for a period of several Indeed, for 240 English titles bought, only interest in authors who are little known language, provided by the Ministry of months, which shows that the BIEF is 84 85 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe determined to be at the heart of encoun- translation rights of their books to their P u b lishing Aid Programme (PAP), de- must have three translated works pub- ters between booksellers, publishers and foreign colleagues and assumes part of signed to support books of cultural im- lished and take full or partial leave. people working in the book chain in the cost of translation. It pays particular portance. A medium or long term pro- Second, translation credits, which are general who want to cooperate with attention to markets considered Òdif ficultÓ gramme for publications by French a lump sum for the translation of a dif- French publishing. and literary fields where promotion authors is set up by local publishers in li- ficult work for heritage purposes. The ap- As a support and complement to those abroad is most necessary (human and so- aison with the cultural services of the plication must be made by the translator, activities, the organism provides its mem- cial sciences, theatre, young adultsÕ litera- French embassies. accompanied by a letter setting out the bers with studies of book markets abroad, ture, etc.). About 500 titles a year benefit For the United States this aid, called the problems (stylistic difficulties, different the place French books occupy in itÑin from aid from the CNL to be translated Hemingway Grant, is awarded to Amer- levels of language, documentary research, terms of sales of rights and exportsÑand into a foreign language. ican publishers through the cultural serv- etc.) and the interest of the work. The com- their potential for development, through To be eligible, the dossier must be sub- ices of the French Embassy in the United mittee will decide according to the qual- the quarterly publication of a newsletter La mitted by the French publisher holding States. It cannot be added to an aid from ity of the original text and a sample of the Lettre, special dossiers and reports. The Web the sales rights. The dossiers are scruti- the CNL and the amount varies from 1,000 translation, and will assess the degree of site www.bief.org contains complementary nised by a committee made up of repre- to 6,000 dollars. In the dossier, the Ameri- difficulty of the translation. A translation information about activities, reports and sentatives of the administrations involved, can publisher must provide a provisional contract must be provided, and the aid the latest news in the profession. In terms publishing professionals and highly qual- budget justifying the amount of the aid will be added to the publisherÕs payment. of sales of rights, Europe (the whole con- ified persons. The dossiers are selected applied for, amongst other things. tinent) and Asia, but also Latin America, according to various criteria such as the Scholarships for foreign translators are the priority zones at present. The per- quality of the work, the policy of the for- Aids for translators The CNL also awards scholarships for for- manent eyes and ears of BIEF, France Edi- eign publisher and its respect for its com- In addition to the aid granted to foreign eign translators who want to live in France tion Inc. in New York, offers all members mitments to the French publishers, the publishers, the CNL and the Foreign Min- to carry out a translation project. These the services of a rights agency for English, risk involved, the translatorÕs fee and the istry offer translators from French to scholarships may be obtained by sending a and in Hanoi the aim of France Edition amount of the advance payment. foreign languages several kinds of aid de- dossier to the CNL through the cultural Vit-nam is to develop French-Vietnamese The aid, paid to the French publishers signed to support their work. services of the French Embassy in the can- exchanges in the field of books, both for who have to pass them on to the foreign didateÕs country of residence. The decisions exports and for exchanges of rights or cop- publishers, are calculated from the trans- Aids for translation are taken by the president of CNL after ublishing partnerships. latorÕs or translatorsÕ fee to the exclusion The CNL awards aid for the translation consultation with a committee made up of of all other costs connected with the pro- of a work, on certain conditions. The aid translators, publishers and representa tives Financial aids duction or promotion of the work. The is designed to support the translation of of the administrations involved. The com mit- The French government also subsidises sum agreed may be 20% to 50% of the cost French works into foreign languages, ex- tee meets once a year and awards a hundred translation initiatives through different of the translation submitted in the applic- cept for books in the public domain, school or so scholarships, the sum being 1,525 programmes, designed for both pub- ation dossier. books, practical guides and magazines. The Euros per month for a stay of one to three lishers and foreign translators. amount of the aid, which is given directly months. Travelling expenses are not paid. International Cooperation to the translators, may vary from 20% to The translators must justify a project Aids for publishers and Development Department 50% of the cost of the translation. for the translation of a French work (Foreign Ministry) There are two kinds of aid. First, grants, which is the object of a contract with a CNL Moreover, for many years the Foreign which apply to all fields of translation foreign publisher. They must live abroad. The National Book Centre provides sup- Ministry has been offering an aid pro- and are designed for long-term personal All genres are included (literature, poetry, port for French publishers for the sale of gramme for foreign publishers: the projects. To be eligible, the translator young adults, human and social sciences) 86 87 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe and all works, including those that come as a Web site for American book pro- give readings in bookshops and Alliances translators by the CNL and the Foreign into the public domain. fessionals, which aims to be a filter for Franaises or guarantee the promotional Min istry, and a data base with all the texts Lastly, since 2005, through the Book French publishing. monitoring of a work translated in the translated into English since 1990, which Service of the French Embassy in New York, United States. They are also an opportunity will come into operation in autumn 2007. the Foreign Ministry has been managing French Voices for authors who have not been translated All these initiatives by the French gov- its own programme for stays by trans- In partnership with the PEN American to meet American publishers and literary ernment for foreign and, particularly as lators from French to English (United Center, in 2006 the Book Service set up agents. far as American publishers are concerned, States and United Kingdom), in partner- French Voices, a new translation program In the framework of a project over three allow the spread not only of literature, ship with Villa Gillet, a cultural institu- designed to assist the US publication of years, the Book Service is also making a sub- but of all French publishing abroad. It is tion in Lyon. books written in French and published sidy available to the Pen American Center thanks to the grouping of these different The programme allows foreign transla- after 2000. for a visit by a delegation of ten authors to initiatives that the sales figures for French tors working on a translation project of a By the end of 2008, 30 booksÑincluding the literary festival World Voices. rights abroad are so good. contemporary French work to spend six an equal number of works of literature Lastly, the Book Service is setting up a For the United States, we can (optimisti- weeks in Lyon (the aid includes transport, and essaysÑwill have been selected by a series of invitations to France for Amer- cally) glimpse a change of atmosphere, accommodation and an allowance) and to committee of French and American book ican authors and especially publishers. which would leave a stronger place for become involved in the cultural life of the industry professionals. The invitations allow publishers from the translations as a whole, notably from city. The translators selected always take The series, recognizable thanks to a two countries to meet, to discover their French. This prospect is supported by the part in workshops at Villa Gillet. To be eli- logo designed by famous French artist respective catalogues and to establish immense success of French or French- gible, the translators need not necessarily Serge Bloch, will offer English-language long term trade relations. speaking writers such as Bernard-Henri justify a contract with a foreign publisher, readers a new Francophone perspective Lvy (despite and certainly due to the since the aim of these stays is to bring new on our globalized world. A short preface www.frenchbooknews.com controversy), Marjane Satrapi for the comic, projects onto the American and British by a well-known writer will introduce each And so the Book Service can assist Ameri- or Irne Nmirovsky, whose posthumous publishing scenes. book, and a reading guide will be available can publishers at decisive stages: the link novel Suite Franaise was published in free at www.frenchbooknews.com. with French publishers, the financing of spring 2006 by Knopf. Moreover, certain The actions of the Cultural Cooperation To help offset the financial risks asso- translation projects and the monitoring French and/or European publishing houses, Services in New York ciated with distributing translated texts in after publication of the work. The Web such as Assouline or Europa Editions Created in 2004, the Book Service of the the American marketplace, the publisher site www.frenchbooknews.com, created (Italy), are embarking on the American French Embassy in New York is engaged in of each selected project will receive $6,000 in association with the French Embassy adventure and six French literary agents promoting French publications in the for the translatorÕs stipend. If a project in London Book Bureau, plays a fourth, are becoming increasingly established in United States. To carry out its task it has a without an American publisher is selected, no less decisive, role: to make an interest- the American publishing market. varied range of tools: the Hemingway the Book Service will do its best to support ing proposition by selecting each month In conclusion, let us return to the state of Grant campaign and translatorsÕ stays at it by identifying and making overtures to a dozen works which have recently ap- translation into and out of French in France. Villa Gillet as we have already seen, but a suitable partner. peared in France, presenting them to the The situation is very positive for translations also a new programme of support for publishers in the form of a critical sum- from French into a foreign language as a translation of French titles published Visits and invitations mary. The site also offers American and whole. There are a large number of buyer since 2000 ÒFrench VoicesÓ, a program of Furthermore, the Service has thirty or so British professionals a list of contacts of countries, the sales figures are good, and visits by French-speaking authors to the visits by authors per year: the aim is to in- the people in charge of the sales of rights the spread of French literature is excellent United States and invitations to American vite French-speaking authors to come and in the French publishing houses, a list in a large majority of countries. For the trans- authors and publishers to France, as well take part in conferences at universities, of the aids awarded to publishers and lation of foreign languages into French, our 88 89 J`o:Xj\Jkl[`\jfeC`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe assessment must be more moderate: the EFK +,DXZqbX#D`Z_\cc\Xe[I`bpJkfZb1C`k\iXipKiXejcXk`fe`e GlYc`j_`e^Zffg\iXk`fe_XjXcjfY\\e]i\hl\ekcpX[fgk\[ k_\ Le`k\[ JkXk\j1 8e 8eXcpj`j f] KiXejcXk\[ K`kc\j I\$ Yp :_`e\j\ Xe[ ]fi\`^e gi\jj\j% K_\ :_`eX @ek\ieXk`feXc m`\n\[ Yp GlYc`j_\ij N\\bcp%$E\n Pfib1 GlYc`j_`e^ GlYc`j_`e^ >iflg# `e Zffg\iXk`fe n`k_ k_\ 8d\i`ZXe PXc\ I\j\XiZ_HlXik\icp#Mfcld\))#EldY\i)#)''-% Le`m\ij`kpGi\jj#`jgcXee`e^kfglYc`j_dfi\k_Xe)'[`]$ ]\i\ek Yffb j\i`\j fe :_`e\j\ Zlckli\ Xe[ Z`m`c`qXk`fe# f] +-N`ccXe[#AlkkX#I`^_kj;`i\ZkfiXk<`Z_Yfie8>`eXg_fe\ n_`Z_knf_Xm\Xci\X[pY\\eZfdgc\k\[%K_\gifa\Zk_Xj Zfem\ijXk`fe ((%')%'- % `eglkj]ifdYfk_j`[\jf]Yfk_dXegfn\iXe[ZXg`kXc%K_\ +.G This chapter, divided in two sections, expos- that work with PEN to promote the trans- es a number of interesting experiences on lation of international writing in English. literary translation. The first section deals Three practices that seem most effective with translation into English, especially at the present time are: programs carried through American initiatives. The second out on an issue-oriented, trans-regional section focuses on the tools to promote basis; programs that offer special support translation to other languages (including to translators, as well as to publishers of English) used by four European countries. translations; and initiatives that make use of the Internet as an extraordinary new resource for the dissemination of inter- +%( Moreover, since universities generally orga- but instead focus on compelling issues, diplomacy commissioned by the US State bilingual elementary schools to enhance nize their academic departments by langua- both political and literary, or take the form Department which lamented the current the language skills of new generations of ge, the region-by-region approach dovetails of tributes or conversations. A consortium absence of a US cultural agency along the US students and increase their awareness neatly with the needs of many university of European arts organizations with lines of the British Council or the Institu- of translation. The Center also organizes programs. And it has, in the past, proven branches in New York, including the Insti- to Cervantes. The Iowa International Writ- cultural forums and readings and pub- spectacularly effective; in the late 1960s and tuto Cervantes, the French Cultural Services, ing Program, which receives funding for a lishes TWO LINES: a journal of translation, early 1970s, it was a Rockefeller grant pro- the Italian Institute of Culture, and the number of its participants from the State an annual magazine which, since 1994, has gram to support the translation of Latin Czech Center, has also begun producing Department, does all that it can to make been a forum for international literature American literature into English that made literary programs at other times of the year up for that. translated into English and commen tary possible the translation of works by Gabriel in New York that include writers from across An even longer tradition of support on the art of translation. Garca Mrquez and others and successfully Europe in discussion with each other. for international literature is ongoing at Under the direction of the eminent created a new audience for Latin American Growing out of a PEN American Center the University of Oklahoma, where the Kenyan novelist and playwright Ngu~gõ~ wa literature in the United States. tradition of May as World-in-Translation bimonthly journal World Literature Today ThiongÕo, the International Center for th However, in recent years, many cultural Month, Reading the World is another has just celebrated its 80 anniversary Writing and Translation at the Univer- agencies have grown impatient with the new project that puts works of translated (www.ou.edu/worldlit/). The journal also sity of California at Irvine (www.humanities. inevitable risk of Òpreaching to the con- literature published by a growing number administers the biennial Neustadt In- uci.edu/icwt/) sponsors numerous events vertedÓ that this approach entails: the risk of commercial and non-profit publish- ternational Prize for Literature which and congresses on translation-related issues, of introducing international writing only ers on prominent display in independ- awards $50,000 to an eminent poet, nove- offers stipends and fellowships to graduate to that small subsegment of the English- ent bookstores across the United States list or playwright from anywhere in the students for projects in Translation Studies, speaking audience that already has a com- throughout the month of May. Launched world. Inaugurated in 1969, it was the and has a program of grants to support mitted interest in the language or country in 2005 by two independent bookstore first and remains the only literary award the translation of literature and theory in question. The Institut Ramon LlullÕs owners in collaboration with the Dalkey of its scope in the United States for which into English (see below). A partner of the initiative in sponsoring this very report Archive PressÕs Center for Book Culture, both international and U.S. authors are International Center for Writing and embodies a contrasting approach that is the program had grown considerably by eligible. Translation, the International Institute currently proving effective in reaching its second annual celebration in 2006. For The Center for Translation Studies at of Modern Letters (IIML) Ñwww.modern- wider audiences: to propose a given issue further information, see www.readingthe - the University of Texas at Dallas, founded letters.orgÑsupports translation as part and bring together people from a variety world.org in 1980 and directed by Rainer Schulte, of- of its commitment to Òadvancing the of different regions and languages to ad- For 40 years, the International Writ- fers students both an MA and a PhD in the cause of democracy and progress through dress it (see www.llull.cat). ing Program at the University of Iowa context of an interdisciplinary humanities a free literature.Ó The IIML is committed PEN American Center has adopted this (see www.uiowa.edu/~iwp/), now directed program and promotes the visibility of to helping persecuted writers prevail tactic to good effect in PEN World Voices: by Christopher Merrill, has invited writers translation and the translator through re- against censorship and bringing their the New York Festival of International from around the world for visits of up to search and public events (see www.transla- works to an audience in the United Literature, an annual event launched three months, giving the writers a chance tion.utdallas.edu). It also serves as the home States. Based in Las Vegas, in 2001 it made in 2005 (see www.pen.org). The World to come to know the United States at first base of the American Literary Translators Las Vegas a City of Asylum for persecuted Voices Festival, which has consistently hand, but also to bring their work to U.S. Association (see below). writers, and now works with a network drawn large audiences to its events, as- audiences through a variety of panels, The San Francisco-based Center for of other Cities of Asylum that has devel- sembles a wide variety of writers who work readings and presentations organized by Art in Translation (www.catranslation. oped across the United States (see www. in many languages for panels that are the program. Merrill was one of the prin- org) sponsors an innovative Poetry Inside cityofasylum.org). Rainmaker Books is rarely organized by region or language, ciple authors of a recent report on cultural Out program that brings translators into an IIML program dedicated to supporting 96 97 the publication of literary translations literature in general. The Sebald lecture in their negotiations with publishers, the ALTA National Translation Award for the (see below). is now one of the cultural highlights of Committee has established a Trans latorsÕ best book-length literary translation of Co-founded by the Writing Division the year in London, and the prizewinners Model Contract (www.pen.org/page.php/ the preceding year. The ALTA website of- of the Columbia University School of the are annually featured in an article in the prmID/271); it was also the PEN Translation fers a wide array of professional resources Arts and PEN American Center, the Cent- Times Literary Supplement. Committee that lobbied the U.S. Library of for translators, including advice on get- er for Literary Translation at Columbia Congress to include trans latorsÕ names in ting their work published and on promo- UniversityÑwww.centerforliterarytrans- YTJlggfik]fikiXejcXkfijXe[ its listings, thus gaining recognition for tion and tenure, for those with university lation.orgÑlaunched in the fall of 2006, is glYc`j_\ijf]kiXejcXk`fej translators in library catalogues across the positions. The site also offers extensive drawing together a number of collabora- country, as most follow the Library of Con- information about academic programs tors, including the website Words With- Literary translators of many languages in gress model. The Committee also adminis- and departments of literary translation in out Borders (see below) and the interna- many countries complain of the difficulty ters the PEN Book-of-the-Month-Club the United States and elsewhere, as well as tional poetry journal Circumference (www. of their career, the poor or nonexistent Translation Prize, which is awarded to the grants and awards for literary translators. circumferencemag.com) to create a dy- remuneration and lack of recognition; translator of a book-length prose work namic new organization that will support translators in the English-speaking world published in the pre vious year. There is >iXekjkfkiXejcXkfij translation through funding, education, in particular do not have an easy time of also an annual prize for the translation of In 2003, PEN American Center received an conferences and public events. it. Support for literary translators in the poetry, as well as the Ralph Manheim Med- anonymous endowment of $730,000 that In England, the British Centre for Lit- form of grants, residencies, prizes and al, a lifetime achievement award for trans- enabled it to establish the PEN Translation erary Translation (BCLT), founded at the professional assistance is therefore hugely lators. The Los Angeles-based PEN Center Fund—www.centerforliterarytranslation. University of East Anglia in 1989 by the beneficial, as it encourages them to per- USA also offers an annual award to a trans- orgÑwhich, through a highly competitive late W.G. Sebald and currently directed by severe in their demanding work. Support lator for the best book-length translation annual application process, awards grants Amanda Hopkinson (www.uea.ac.uk/eas/ in the form of fellowships or prizes for (www.penusa.org). to translators on the basis of their skill centres/bclt/bcltintro.shtml), offers an younger translators is especially helpful Founded in 1978, the American Liter- and the importance of the unpublished imaginative and varied program of events, in this respect. Another part of the prob- ary Translators Association (ALTAÑsee projects they have submitted. The goal of activities, publications, including In Other lem of publishing literary translation in www.literarytranslators.org/ ) is a nation- the fund is to increase the number of li- Words: The Journal for Literary Translators, the English-speaking world is the cost wide organization with a membership of terary translations into English published and coursework. Along with English PEN, to publishers, who are loathe to spend about 600, based at the Center for Transla- in the United States. To date, the Fund has the BCLT sponsors the annual Sebald lec- money on projects that all too often are tion Study at the University of Texas at Dal- supported a total of 32 translations from ture on the art of literary translation, a not money-making ventures. Financial las. In addition to publishing Trans lation 22 languages, a good number of which gala event held in London which includes support for publishers of translations Review, a scholarly journal of translation have now been published to considerable a joint award ceremony at which prizes, to cover the costs of publication and pro- studies, and Annotated Books Received, the acclaim. for translations from Dutch, French, Ger- motion is therefore also an effective way most detailed source of information about The United States government itself, man, Modern Greek, Spanish and Russian, of ensuring that more translations will be literary translations published in the via the National Endowment for the Arts, are distributed. Each of the six prizes previ- published. United States, ALTA organizes an an nual remains the countryÕs most generous ously had its own individual and separate congress which provides an invaluable funder of translations, offering grants of awards event, but the BCLTÕs former direc- KiXejcXkfijË8jjfZ`Xk`fej opportunity for literary translators from $10,000 - $20,000 to the best translators tor, Peter Bush, worked to unite them into For over 40 years, PEN American Center’s across the country to meet and exchange and translation projects to emerge from a a single ceremony in order to increase the Translation Committee has fought to en- ideas. A very rich intellectual community highly competitive application process. degree of recognition of the efforts of the sure that translatorsÕ work is recognized has thus been formed. A high point of the The NEA Translation Fellowships have various translators and of international and fairly rewarded. To support trans lators annual congress is the awarding of the been a key component of the EndowmentÕs 98 99 Literature Program for many years (see closely with many translators affiliated Arcade in 2005). Scottish PEN and Austra- and Spain in 2007, the NEA will provide www.nea.gov/grants/apply/LitTransla tion/ with PEN Canada. lian PEN have each published anthologies funds to publishers for the translation, index.html) and recently the NEA has In the United States, Ledig House (www. of translations of work by members from publication and promotion of works from further consolidated its commitment to artomi.org/ledig.htm) is an international different linguis tic backgrounds. those countries. translation both by increasing the amount writersÕ colony in upstate New York that The most ambitious PEN program of Most funding for translation into of money available for the Translation Fel- welcomes translators to apply for residen- support for publishers of literary trans- English available to publishers naturally lowships (thus making it possible to offer cies of one week to two months. The con- lation in English is English PEN’s Writers comes from government cultural agen- more of them) and through an ambitious vivial residency sessions, with participants in Translation program. Founded in 2004, cies. The French Cultural Services recently new program, the NEA International Lit- from across the globe, take place twice a and supported by the Arts Council England announced an ambitious new program of erature Awards (see under ÒFunding for year, in the spring and fall, in a lovely rural and a grant from the Bloomberg news org- funding for the translation into English Publishers of TranslationsÓ below). area. anization, the program offers grants of of French titles originally published since The International Center for Writing up to £4,000 to publishers for the specific 2000, that includes residencies for trans- and Translation (ICWT) at the University of Jlggfik]fik_\GlYc`ZXk`fe purpose of promoting and marketing a lators at the Villa Gillet in Lyon (see the California at Irvine also offers grants to trans- f]KiXejcXk`fej translated work. The program also offers French case study included in this report lators (www.humanities.uci.edu/icwt/cfp/ Many PEN Centres across the world have grants of up to £250 to writers in other and www.frenchbooknews.com). Though cfp.html). This year, the ICWT will give four themselves become publishers of jour- languages whose work has not found a not generally on so large a scale, many grants of $5,000, with particular interest in nals or anthologies of translated work as publisher, to pay for a sample translation governments offer this kind of funding translations from cultures and languages a way of supporting the efforts of their and readerÕs report. (See www.englishpen. to publishers. UNESCO maintains a very that have been overlooked and marginal- members, and of advocating the work of org/writersintranslation). useful database of help and subsidies for ized by the Anglo-American canon. the censored writers they work to defend. The Lannan Foundation’s Literary literary translation at: International PEN’s annual journal na- Grants to publishers have supported http://portal.unesco.org/culture/ I\j`[\eZ`\j]fiKiXejcXkfij turally includes a great deal of work in translation projects published by the en/ev.php-url_id=1539&url_do=do_ The first program of its kind in North translation, as does PEN America, the jour- finest non-profit literary presses in the printpage&url_section=-473&url_ America, the annual Banff International nal of PEN American center. In addition, United States for almost 20 years (www. pagination=40.html Liter ary Translation Centre (www.banff - PEN American CenterÕs Freedom-to-Write lannan.org/lf/lit/grants/). More recently, In addition, for those in the publishing centre.ca/programs/program.aspx?id=446) Committee has published several antholo- the International Institute of Modern Let- industry who have access to it, the Publish- is a summer residency program inspired gies of work by writers whose communities ters launched Rainmaker Translations, a ing Trends newsletter for September, 2006 by similar literary translation centers in have been subjected to persecution and new imprint under which it publishes offers a great deal of extremely useful in- Europe. In addition to affording trans- censorship, including Inked Over, Rip ped books with a consortium of four leading formation about a wide variety of grants lators a two-week period of uninterrupted Out: Burmese Storytellers and the Censors (edi- publishers (www.modernletters.org/ available to publishers from governments work in the gorgeous setting of the Banff ted by Anna J. Allott, 1993) and The Roads of programs/translations.html). across the globe for the translation of Centre for the Arts, the program allows the Roma (edited by Ian Hancock, Siobhan Even more recently, the National En- literature into English (see www.publish- a ranslator to request a joint residency Dowd and Rajko Djuric, 1998). More recent- dowment for the Arts launched its Inter- ingtrends.com). of up to one week with the writer whose ly, PEN American Center participated in a national Literature Awards (www.nea. work he or she is translating, thus allowi ng lawsuit against the United States govern- gov/grants/apply/InternationalLiterature. ZT@ek\ie\k$YXj\[`e`k`Xk`m\j translator and writer to consult with ment in order to gain publication for Stran- html) aimed at providing American read- one another extensively. The Banff pro- ge Times, My Dear: The PEN Anthology of Con- ers with greater access to the literature of Though English was once the primary lan- gram is open to translators from Canada, temporary Iranian Literature (edited by Nahid Europe. In partnership with various Eu- g uage of the Internet, by 1998 most newly-crea- Mexico and the United States, and works Mozaffari, and coura geously published by ropean countries, beginning with Greece ted Web sites were not in English, and by 100 101 2002 less than 50% of the Web was in En- The most audacious website to have other. The international network thus 2000 until 2006. This program, in turn, glish (see David CrystalÕs The Language Re- taken on the more daunting task of dis- formed is perhaps one of our best hopes was replaced by Cultura 2007. Thus far the volution cited in the first chapter of this seminating international literature to an for the perpetuation of a true world lit- European Union has given very limited report). This trend is an encouraging one English-speaking audience is www.words- erature, in all its polyglossia. funding to these literary translation pro- for those who prefer the idea of a multi- withoutborders.org. Working in part- grams, namely the equivalent of the budg- lingual world in which English is a useful nership with Bard College, PEN American et allocated yearly for promoting books in and optio nal lingua franca rather than Center, and the Center for Literary Trans- +%) (Next Page Foundation, Central and East in Belgium since 2000. The principal in- Pro Helvetia is a program that supports rope and a large part of the world with- European Book Project). struments of its foreign policy are infor- the promotion of Swiss authors and books out language barriers, at least not for an mation and documentation, translation related to Switzerland. educated public. EXk`feXc>iXekj]fiKiXejcXk`fe grants, travel grants and literary produc- Most European countries have developed tion grants. ¥ http://www.bundeskanzleramt.at/ ?fccXe[Xe[=cXe[\ij1 government programs providing grants DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3969&Alias-art • Books from Holland and Flanders, Qual- for translations of their literature into oth- :XkXcfe`X1 The Austrian Federal Chancellery has a ity Nonfiction from Holland and Chil- er languages, which often also include • http://www.llull.cat/llull/ specific translation grant program. drenÕs Books from Holland some aspects of foreign promotion, such The Institut Ramon Llull provides grants Produced in English, these books intro- as travel grants for authors. To make these to publishers for translating literary, non- =iXeZ\1 duce new Dutch literary titles twice a year, programs more effective, they have crea ted fiction and research works. From 2003 to • The Directorate General for Interna- published by the Foundation for the Pro- independent agencies focusing on foreign 2007 more than 250 titles have been grant- tional Cooperation and Development, a duction and Translation of Dutch Litera- promotion of the countryÕs liter ature or ed support through this scheme. A pro- division of the French Ministry of Foreign ture. culture. These agencies are more flexible gram of residences for literary translators Affairs, offers a grant aimed at foreign than the government bodies (Ministries) has recently been launched. publishers, providing support to cultur- :XkXcfe`X1 and act as effective mediators between gov- ally important books. • Booklets that offer a choice of works ernments and the business environment. • http://www.mcu.es/ written in Catalan (five genres: fiction, Through Direccin General del Libro, • http://www.centrenationaldulivre.fr/ poetry, drama, classics and non-fiction). ?fccXe[Xe[=cXe[\ij1 Archivo y Bibliotecas, the Spanish Min- The Centre National du Livre allocates an Produced in English, German and Span- • http://www.nlpvf.nl/ istry of Culture offers ÒGrants for the pro- annual budget of almost 10 million Euros ish, these booklets introduce new or clas- The Nederlands Literair Productie- en motion of translation and publication of to funding French publishing exports and sic titles written originally in Catalan lan- Vertalingenfonds (Foundation for the literary and scientific works by Spanish granting the rights for French titles to guage. They are published by the Institut Production and Translation of Dutch Lit- authors in any foreign language,Ó aimed foreign publishers. Almost 500 titles benefit Ramon Llull. erature), based in Amsterdam, is funded at publishing companies and offered on a from this funding each year. by the countryÕs Ministry of Education yearly basis. Aside from Spanish-language • Transfer. Journal of Contemporary and Culture. The foundation actively pro- authors, those writing in Catalan, Basque Gifdfk`feXcGlYc`ZXk`fej`e resumed in 2006 thanks to Catalan PEN, ated this project in 2006. About 50 titles translatorsÕ residencies at Villa Gillet, in JkXe[Xi[`q\[ `e]fidXk`fe# [XkXYXj\j# with funding from the Institut Ramon published after the year 2000 will be se- Lyons, and runs a series of promotional Xe[ZXkXcf^j Llull. lected to be published as part of a collec- tours for French-language authors in the One of the primary objectives of foreign tion. The American publisher who chooses United States. It also invites U.S. authors promotion is to inform audiences in other >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ to publish the translation will receive a and publishers to France. countries about national literature and Zfleki`\j1 $6,000 grant. All titles will have a logo and its context. Aside from producing promo- • http://www.new-books-in-german.com include a preface by a well-known Amer- M`j`k`e^GlYc`j_\i tional material, such as for book fairs, it New Books in German is a London-based ican author. This program aimed at foreign publishers, is also essential to cater to professionals magazine offering a printed selection of who are invited for a brief visit to the host (i.e., publishers, authors, and translators) German books twice a year. Three thous- Gifdfk`feXc<]]fikj8YifX[ country to help establish personal con- by providing them with information that and copies of the magazine are distrib- Only a few of EuropeÕs larger countries tact with publishers, cultural program- covers a variety of resources ranging from uted worldwide. Information is also avail- have specific programs with institutions ming organizers and authors, is typical of author databases to translation biblio- able on their website. operating centers or offices abroad, which medium or small countries that have not graphies and catalogs, as well as information enable them to develop a far more effec- fully developed other channels such as about foreign rights, translation grants, • www.signandsight.com tive promotional strategy. major book fairs or multinational pub- the current status of the publishing in- The English version of the online maga- lishing companies. dustry, etc. All these tasks are primarily zine Perlentaucher. Aside from a selection >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ carried out by the government agencies of cultural news items from newspapers Zfleki`\j1 ?fccXe[ responsible for foreign promotion. Only and information about high-profile • http://www.gbo.org Xe[=cXe[\ij1 the largest countries have specific organ- books, two or three English translations The German Book Office was founded • http://www.nlpvf.nl/ izations with offices abroad. of particularly interesting nonfiction in 1998 by the Frankfurt Book Fair. It has The Nederlands Literair Productie- en pieces are published weekly. offices in New York, Beijing, Bucharest, Vertalingenfonds (Foundation for the ?fccXe[Xe[=cXe[\ij1 Moscow and Warsaw. The main purpose Production and Translation of Dutch Lit- • http://www.speurwerk.nl =iXeZ\1 of these offices is to facilitate business erature) invites ten publishers to spend a The Stichting Speurwerk betreffende het • www.frenchbooknews.com contact between German publishers and few days in Amsterdam so they can meet boek (Book Research Foundation) is based The Bureau du Livre at the French Em- those of the host country or region. with Dutch publishers. in Amsterdam and publishes a variety of bassy in London has a website where each information on Dutch books. Its primarily month it publishes reviews of ten works =iXeZ\1 :XkXcfe`X1 focus is the domestic market, as made recently published in France. The site also • Services du Livre des Ambassades de In light of the Catalan culture being clear by the fact that its website is available includes a listing of both foreign-rights France (Book Office at the French Em- named Òguest of honorÓ for the 2007 exclusively in Dutch. contacts at French publishing companies bassy) Frankfurt Book Fair, the Institut Ramon and grants already awarded to publishers The French Embassies have a program Llull has helped set the stage by organiz- :XkXcfe`X1 and translators by the CNL and the MAE, that supports promotion of French books ing a series of visits by foreign publishers • http://www.llull.cat/llull/biblioteca/trac.jsp along with a database covering all works and includes assisting authors during to Barcelona. These publishers have met TRAC, a catalog of all literary works trans- translated into English since 1990. their visits and organizing events and co- with local literary agents and publishers lated from Catalan into other languages, operation with local institutions. The Em- in order to become acquainted with Cata- was compiled by the Instituci de les Lle- • Best French Writing: 21st Century bassy in New York, for example, awards lan fiction and nonfiction works. This has tres Catalanes from 1993 on, and has been The Book Service at the French Embassy in the Hemingway grants for translation never previously been done on a regular available online since 2005 through the New York and PEN American Center cre- of French works into English, manages basis. Institut Ramon Llull website. 106 107 • http://www.mcu.es/ for reinforcing the export market; it also book reviews and relevant bibliographies. of translated authors are broken down Overview of Spanish Book Publishing The performs research studies about reading Most of the websites focus on national lit- into two areas: trans lations from Catalan main indicators for the Spanish publishing habits and book sales. erature, but some of them are international (exports) and translations into Catalan industry are available for reference through in their scope, such as the project developed (imports). Literatura catalana en traduc- the countryÕs Ministry of Culture website, • http://www.bief.org by PEN MacedoniaÑDiversity (http://www.di- ció (Catalan Literature in Translation) following this route: Statistics, Primary Stat- Le Bureau International de l’Edition versity.org.mk/), an attempt to put together introduces Catalan authors with a short istics, Statistics of Publication of Books. A Française (BIEF) provides studies about a catalog of literary translations into a wide introductory essay translated into seve- more detailed study (including information foreign markets, rights and French book range of languagesÑor Hungarian-based ral languages, a bibliography of all their on publications in Catalan) is available in exports. It also publishes special reports Babelmatrix (http://www.babelmatrix.org/). translations, and excerpts from both the the annual printed version. The fact that it and summaries. The Bureau guarantees Among others, the network of European original work and its transl ations. Lit- is published exclusively in Spanish and not the collective presence of the works of cultural magazines known as Eurozine eratura universal en català (Universal in other languages suggests that it is aimed French publishers at book fairs and other (http://www.eurozine.com/) is also very im- Lit erature in Catalan) strives to draw up primarily at the domestic market. events worldwide and at international portant for raising awareness about liter- a map of the translations that reach Cata- congresses. It also organizes book ex- ature and thought in general. lonia from different cultures. In addi- >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ hibitions for the publishing sector in dif- tion to these author and translated-book Zfleki`\j1 ferent cities in a given country. BIEF is an ?fccXe[Xe[=cXe[\ij1 presenta tions, there is a third area speci- • http://www.gbo.org association comprising 250 members and • www.nlpvf.nl fically devoted to translators. L’espai del The German Book Office was founded in receives support from the French minis- The Nederlands Literair Productie- en traductor (The TranslatorÕs Space) pro- 1998 by the Frankfurt Book Fair. It has of- tries of Culture and Communication, and Vertalingenfonds (Foundation for the vides detailed information about all the fices in New York, Beijing, Bucharest, Mos- Foreign Affairs; it has been active for 130 Production and Translation of Dutch Lit- translators who have used Catalan for cow and Warsaw. The purpose of these years. The organization also works in close erature) has an informative, updated web- their work either as a source or a target offices is to facilitate business contacts collaboration with le Syndicat National de site offering a full range of information language. between German publishers and those of lÕEdition (National Publishing Union, about Dutch literature. It includes a data- the host country or region. SNE), CELF, and la Centrale de lÕEdition base of all translations of Dutch literature >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ (Publishing Center). into other languages. Zfleki`\j1 =iXeZ\1 • http://www.litrix.de/ • http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/dll/ • http://frenchpubagency.com/ :XkXcfe`X1 Litrix offers reviews and translations of dll98.htm The French Publisher’s Agency is a New • www.pencatala.cat/ctdl excerpts from contemporary German lit- La Direction du Livre et de la Lecture, York delegation of BIEF that represents Pàgines de traducció literària (Litera- erature. belonging to the French Ministry of Cul- several French publishers in the United ry Translation Pages) is an initiative of ture and Communication, is in charge States. the Translation and Language Rights • www.lyrikline.org of la Bibliothque Nationale de France, Committee of Catalan PEN (active since This online publication offers poems Bibliothque Publique dÕInformation, N\Yj`k\j 2004), and has been organized with su- and their translations into different lan- and le Centre National du Livre. Within In recent years, many foreign promotion pport from LÕInstitut Ramon Llull and g uages, both in text and audio formats. the book trade, it supervises the creation, programs are based on websites, which are LÕInstituci de les Lletres Catalanes. Their publishing, distribution, and promotion capable of offering a broad range of inform- goal is to take advantage of the potential • http://www.perlentaucher.de/ of books in France and abroad. It assists in ation in many languages. There are online offered by the Internet for introducing Perlentaucher (Pearl Divers) is an online the founding of publishing companies magazines and catalogs of authors or spe- Catalan liter ature to a broad readership, magazine providing current information and bookstores and develops strategies cific works that include translation excerpts, both locally and abroad. Presentations about the cultural and intellectual scene 108 109 in Germany. It includes a daily summary Institut, the Alliance Franaise, the Insti- translation in the country of destination) other agents involved in promoting liter- of the contents published in the culture tuto Cervantes, and the Instituto Italiano both in the case of the four European ary life (especially publishers and govern- sections of major German newspapers di Cultura) while also offering a wide variety countries highlighted here and in ment organizations). Very few European and links to the articles available on- of cultural events related to their coun- general. universities have publishing companies line. It also offers information about the tries of origin. capable of distributing books through books that have attracted most attention, ordinary commercial channels and the either for their quality or for being con- and even double this amount. Every year, .• http://lcb.de the visiting authors in several languages. Fi^Xe`qXk`fef]@ek\ieXk`feXc about 200 writers and 100 translators The Literarisches Colloquium Berlin These meetings foster awareness of uni- =X`ij benefit from these grants. offers grants within its program Çber- versal literature and bring literature The major fairs are highly influential and setzungsfrderungsprogramm fr Bel- closer to a wider audience. Some of these succeed in attracting publishers from :XkXcfe`X1 letristik aus den Lndern Mittel- und Os- events have a long-standing tradition. around the world; but the smaller ones, • http://www.cultura.gencat.net/ilc teuropasÈ (Translation Grants Program while perhaps internationally renowned, The Institució de les Lletres Catalanes for Central and Eastern European Liter- :XkXcfe`X1 can also offer good opportunities for fos- strives to promote works in Catalan and ature). The program provides funding for • http://www.bcn.es/barcelonapoesia/ tering cooperation with the publishing their authors, organizing promotional literary works from this region in order Barcelona poesia. International Poetry business. Fairs facilitate buying foreign nd campaigns and exhibitions and partici- to increase the diversity of the selection Festival held in Barcelona; 2006 was its 22 rights for publishing books in other coun- pating in book fairs. It also awards grants available to German readers. year. tries; therefore, it is only natural that all to authors, scriptwriters and researchers. major fairs organize activities aimed at Beginning in 1993, it has offered two =iXeZ\1 • http://www.cccb.org/kosmopolis/index. translators. yearly grants for translations into Catalan, • http://www.centrenationaldulivre.fr/ htm one for translators and another for The Centre National du Livre has for Kosmòpolis, a festival organized by the :XkXcfe`X1 publishers. many years awarded translation grants Centre de Cultura Contempornia de Bar- • http://www.salollibrebcn.com/ to French publishers looking to publish celona. El Saló del Llibre de Barcelona (Barce- • http://www10.gencat.net/sac/AppJava/ works in translation; this funding covers lona Book Fair) is organized by the Gremi servei_fitxa.jsp?codi=13101 50-60% of total translation costs. >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ dÕEditors de Catalunya and the Gremi de As part of its policy, the Catalan Govern- Zfleki`\j1 Llibreters de Barcelona i Catalunya, the mentÕs Programa de Suport a l’Edició • http://www.maison-des-ecrivains.asso.fr/ • http://literaturwerkstatt.org/ publishersÕ and booksellersÕ unions in en Català (Program for Supporting Cat- One of the goals of the Maison des Ecri- Literaturwerstatt Berlin hosts the ÇPoesie Catalonia. Its first international fair was alan-Language Publishing) strives to re- vains (WritersÕ House) is to develop Festival BerlinÈ, one of the highest-profile held in 2005. inforce the presence of the Catalan lan- cooperation with similar organizations in poetry events in all of Europe. It also or- guage and foster publishing, awareness Europe that promote literary activity in a ganizes translation workshops and other >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ and distribution of Catalan-language given country. efforts aimed at introducing foreign au- Zfleki`\j1 books. thors to German readers. • http://www.book-fair.com • http://www.sgdl.org/vieculturelle_prix. The Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ asp • http://www.literaturhaeuser.net/ Book Fair) organizes the most important Zfleki`\j1 The Société des Gens de Lettres (Literary The Literaturhaus (Literature House) is an event worldwide in the book trade. It is • http://www.litprom.de Society) awards several literary translation institution with a long-standing tradition an affiliated company of the Brsenverein Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Liter- prizes. in Germany. Some of these centers have des Deutschen Buchhandels, the German atur aus Afrika, Asien und Lateinameri- made up a network (Berlin, Hamburg, Booksellers and Publishers Association. It ka (Society for the Promotion of African, Fi^Xe`qXk`fef]@ek\ieXk`feXc Frankfurt, Salzburg, Munich, Cologne, also has an international department that Asian and Latin-American Literature) has =\jk`mXcj Stuttgart and Leipzig) in order to coor- promotes German books throughout the a program supporting German transla- Many European countries host literary dinate their efforts. The events they organize world. tion of lit erature from countries that festivals attended by foreign authors on a have an international element, although have traditionally received very little in- regular basis. Catalogs are often published they are primarily aimed at enriching liter- • http://www.leipziger-buchmesse.de/ ternational attention during these events, including excerpts by ary activity in the city where they are held. The Leipziger Buchmesse (Leipzig Book 112 113 Fair) is the second most important brief description of the work, biographi- and meetings between writers on a regular The Translators’ House in Amsterdam, a book trade event in Germany. While the cal information, and an excerpt trans- basis. It also awards two literary prizes each project of the Foundation for the Produc- Frankfurt fair is aimed at professionals, lated into Dutch. The program is aimed at year: one for the best piece of fiction pub- tion and Translation of Dutch Literature, Leipzig showcases books for the general authors from non-Western countries who lished in French translation (Laure-Bataillon accommodates five translators who may public. have not yet been published in Holland Prize) and one for Young Latin-American Lit- stay up to two months. Translators may and find it difficult to make their work erature. It has its own publishing com pany also apply for grants, even for projects =iXeZ\1 known. Another purpose of the Dutch that generally prints bilingual editions. It without a contract from a publisher if • http://www.salondulivreparis.com/ Foundation for LiteratureÕs project is to also publishes Meet, a literary journal. they are sufficiently well-defined. The pro- The Salon du Livre de Paris (Paris Book increase the chances of foreign authors gram is only available to translators work- Fair) is the most important fair in France. living in Holland to start writing in Dutch. 8Zhl`j`k`fef]KiXejcXk`fej]fi ing from Dutch into other languages. Therefore, writers living in the Nether- C`YiXi`\j =fi\`^eNi`k\iI\j`[\eZ`\j lands who are unable to write in Dutch Programs that guarantee book purchases • http://www.fondsvoordeletteren.be/de- Spending some time living in a foreign are eligible. for libraries with public funds are very tectie/flash/001.htm country is a good way for a writer to pro- important for enabling the presence of The Flemish Literary Fund manages the mote his or her work and its chances of :XkXcfe`X1 translations over a long period of time. translation center located at the university getting translated. • http://www.icorn.org/ This measure has proven particularly pos- town of Louvain (Belgium). Translators can Barcelona is one of the refuge cities of the itive in small and medium-sized countries use the university library meet other trans- ?fccXe[1 international Cities of Refuge Network where books are not always reprinted lators, writers and native speakers. The • http://www.fondsvoordeletteren.nl/min- (ICORN) and welcomes writers who suffer when editions go out of print or when the center has two fully furnished apartments. iweb.php?mwid=20 political persecution. The Imprisoned overall economic situation in the country The Residency for Writers in Amsterdam Writers Committee of Catalan PEN man- does not allow for ongoing acquisitions. :XkXcfe`X1 is a project jointly developed by the Dutch ages the refuge program. This program • Farrera de Pallars Seminars Foundation for Literature, the Foundation increases awareness about other situations Twice a year since 1998, the Instituci de for Production and Translation of Dutch among the Catalan public. ZTKiXejcXkfijlggfik`e`k`Xk`m\j les Lletres Catalanes has promoted meet- Literature, the University of Amsterdam ings between foreign authors and Catalan and Atheneum Booksellers. The partners >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ :\ek\ij]fiKiXejcXkfij translators in Farrera de Pallars, a small collaborating in this project have made Zfleki`\j1 These centers offer translators accom- village in the Pyrenees. Each spring and living space available in the heart of the • http://lcb.de odation and the necessary conditions for fall, the ILC invites two poets from the old city. Writers visiting from abroad also The Literarisches Colloquium Berlin of- completing a translation project, answer- same language to meet with ten Catalan have access to the University of Amster- fers accomodation and grants for foreign ing questions that arise in the process, poets and translators. The authors submit dam Library, the Academic Club and the writers and translators at its center. and acquiring a better understanding of selections of their poetry in advance, and Dutch capitalÕs literary activities. the literary context of the original work. during the events, participants are split =iXeZ\1 These residences usually make it possible into two groups and have an opportunity • http://www.fondsvoordeletteren.nl/min- • http://www.meet.asso.fr/ to meet with the author or with scholars to discuss all the aspects of the different iweb.php?mwid=10&sid=335 La Maison des écrivains étrangers et des specialized in the work being translated. versions of the selected poems. This proc- Introductory Portfolio is one of the most traducteurs (Foreign WritersÕ and Trans- ess is extraordinarily valuable in terms of successful programs developed by the latorsÕ House), located in St. Nazaire, offers ?fccXe[1 the personal contact and knowledge of Dutch Foundation for Literature. It con- accomodation for foreign authors and their • http://www.nlpvf.nl/about/translators_ each otherÕs work that it brings about, as sists of an interview with the author, a translators and organizes debates, readings house.php well as the participantsÕ work habits. 114 115 >\idXepXe[fk_\i^\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ The Collège International des Traduct- :XkXcfe`X1 • http://www.sft.fr/ Zfleki`\j1 eurs Littéraires in Arles offers accomoda- There is no association of literary transla- The Société Française de Traducteurs • http://www.uebersetzerfonds.de tion and translation grants funded by the tors to and from Catalan. Translators do (SFT) is the professional translatorsÕ union The Deutscher Übersetzerfonds was es- Centre National du Livre. In agreement have some support from writersÕ associ- and has about 1,000 members. tablished in 1997 and is located in the with certain countries, they have devel- ations and organizations that protect Literarisches Colloquium Berlin. It offers oped binational programs through which copyright in general. • http://www.atlf.org/ work and travel grants for translators. It they organize continuing education semi- • http://www.escriptors.cat/ The Association des Traducteurs Litté- also funds tutors assisting translators and nars aimed at young translators as well as The Associació d’Escriptors en Llengua raires de France (ATLF) was established in residencies in translation centers such as their more experienced colleagues. Cul- Catalana (AELC, Catalan-Language Writ- 1973; its mission is to protect the interests Straelen or Visby (Baltic Center for Writers and tural events, debates, and discussion panels ersÕ Association), founded in 1977 at the of translators and to promote the quality Translators, Sweden). It organizes them- are organized in and around the city of Congress on Catalan Culture, has pro- of literary translations published in France. atic seminars and workshops. Arles. moted sample contracts and offers a legal It currently has over 700 members. advisory service to its associates. • http://www.euk-straelen.de/ • http://www.villagillet.net/ The Europäisches Übersetzer-Kollegium Translation Residencies in Villa Gillet, • http://www.cedro.org/catalan_inicio.asp in Straelen is the largest international Lyons Since 2005, through the Book Ser- El centro español de derechos repro- literary translation center in the world. vice at the French Embassy in New York, gráficos (Spanish Reproduction Rights Translators who have a signed contract the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has Center, CEDRO) strives to improve worki ng from a publisher may apply for residency, offered its own residency program for conditions in Spain for all contributors to regardless of their country of origin. The translators from French into English in culture in written form, and therefore also center has a library with 110,000 books, collaboration with Villa Gillet, a cultural protects the rights of literary translators. 25,000 of which are dictionaries in over organization in Lyon. The program of- 275 languages and dialects. Computers fers six-week residencies in Lyon (grants >\idXepXe[fk_\i>\idXe$jg\Xb`e^ with Internet access are available. Accom- include travel expenses, rent, and a sub- Zfleki`\j1 odation includes 29 independent apart- sidy) and participation in the cityÕs cul- • http://literaturuebersetzer.de ments. The center is located in a pleasant tural activities. Having a contract with a Verband deutschsprachiger Übersetzer lit- small town. publisher is not a prerequisite, given that erarischer und wissenschaftlicher Werke the goal of these residencies is to bring is an association of literary and scientific • http://www.zug.ch/dialogwerkstatt/ new projects into the US and British pub- translators established in 1954 to protect Dialogwerkstatt Zug is offered by the cul- lishing world. the interests of translators in society. tural organizations of the Swiss canton of Zug. It has been promoting the art and KiXejcXkfijË8jjfZ`Xk`fej =iXeZ\1 culture of translation since 1996, offering These associations offer sample con- • http://www.fit-ift.org/fr/news-fr.php translation grants and hosting meetings tracts, suggest rates, and strive to apply The International Federation of Trans- on translation at its center. pressure towards gaining increased rec- lators (FIT), established in Paris in 1953 by ognition of the translatorÕs role, such as Pierre-Franois Call, includes trans latorsÕ =iXeZ\1 the agreement to include the translatorÕs associations from about 50 countries, • http://www.atlas-citl.org/es/citl/index. name in library catalogs and newspapers representing over 60,000 translators htm reviews. throughout the world. 5. Conclusions J`dfeXbiXY\Z Literary translation is an accurate indic- would only show those countries and cul- ator of key aspects of our world at large. tures with a well-developed educational The existence of literary translation and network and an established publishing the conditions surrounding it reveal industry and that is because an educated much more than can be summed up by population is a prior condition to hav- the figures of the number of translations ing readers and the capability of produc- done or the investment a government is ing books. Literary translators depend on willing to make in order to promote its these two factors: the existence of books countryÕs literature. Before analyzing the and an audience capable of reading them. information gathered on the subject in This is not as obvious and facile a conclu- very different countries, it is important to sion as may appear, given that literary step back and take a broader look at what translators only translate what is in print. we can learn from the very existence of lit- Furthermore, many cultures in the world erary translation. have been left out of the exchange of literary translations, because in order to Le\hlXcGi\j\eZ\f]Ni`kk\e:lckli\ participate, it is not enough just to have a It would be a mistake to assume that by do- publishing house and potential readers: ing studies of all of the countries in which the language must also necessarily be as translated books are published, we would normalized as possible. come away with a clear overall picture of Only those cultures with a codified and the international situation regarding lit- firmly consolidated language, and with a erary translation. This x-ray of the world fairly complete network of institutional 118 119 :feZclj`fej and cultural resources (schools, univer- 89ifX[I\XZ_#K_fl^_EfkP\k9ifX[ not so easily be said of the African and countries show an overriding attitude sities, bookstores, libraries, publishing in their bookstores. We have learned that the good system in place for the teaching of Given the widespread resistance to sellers, as though literature werenÕt an es- government of Catalonia has no statistics foreign languages and a network linking communication with other cultures sential part of the educational system of on literature imported from other coun- the worlds of publishing, teaching, media within the English-speaking world, trans- any given country and its cultural life. The tries, although, it does keep careful track and academia and reflect, therefore, a high lators have had to bear the weight of lin- transformation of the literary setting into of the books which have been translated internal social cohesiveness. In countries guistic diversity alone. Thus, a translation a market has had a very negative effect on from Catalan to other languages. This lack which are open to world literature, literary to or from English has very special value, the visibility of translation. of statistical information is probably not translation is well-considered, and viewed because it allows speakers of other lan- It is very difficult to compete for a cor- due just to a lack of interest but is also an as creative work, not a mechanical task. g uages to continue speaking and writing ner of the market against publishing attempt to avoid being asked certain We can see this in the case of the excellent in their own language, without losing the houses which have powerful means to questions touching on identity issues (i.e, German writers who still today follow the connection with the English-speaking set- promote their authors. Both original and the degree of openness of a given country example of Goethe and Herder, dedicating ting. Translation keeps English from sim- translated works must battle against large- or culture), as shown by the survey sent to time not only to their own work but also ply substituting all the other languages. scale marketing campaigns in the media the different PEN centers. to literary translation. The situation in This situation is particularly worrisome in order to gain any public attention. In In 2004 in the United States, there were Germany is not exceptional; in many other with regard to scientific texts. The pres- the United States, publishing houses in- 14,400 new translations of books into Eng- countries recognized writers also serve as sure to write in English has practically put vest vast sums of money in promoting lish, of which only 874 were literary texts. ambassadors to literatures from abroad. an end to the writing of texts in the exact authors they view as potentially bestsell- This is considered to be approximately 3% These interconnecting elements are miss- sciences, physics and biomedicine in other ing. How can a translated work compete of all books on the shelves. In comparison, ing in cultures lacking interest in the languages. This same pressure is becom- with that kind of investment when, in ad- in France, approximately 30% of all books literature of other countries. ing evermore apparent in the social sci- dition, the author of the original work is published are translations. Germany, too, In the United States, the concept of cul- ences and humanities fields. Books target- often not a contemporary writer who can is known to feature much world literature tural diversity is completely monolingual. ed for a cultured audience can expect that do book tours or attract media attention? in its bookstores, in spite of the fact that The scenes and customs described in the readers have a command of todayÕs lingua In principle, there is a built-in quality- the percentage of translated works has books may be very exotic, but the original franca, but that is not entirely possible for control filter with literary translation: the dropped drastically in the past ten years. language in which these picturesque stor- literature targeted to a broader audience. books which are translated normally tend In the medium and small European cul- ies are narrated is, almost without excep- As a result of this tendency to write scien- to be those most valued or frequently-read tures, this percentage tends to be very high tion, English. With a greater number of tific texts in English, many lang uages are in the literature of origin. That means that and, in some cases, represents almost half translated texts perhaps this perspective being left, literally, without their own sci- the great works of a given literature canÕt of the new titles appearing on the shelves would change and the North Americans entific terminology and without original- use the same channels to reach a foreign (examples are: Czech Republic, Estonia, and English would see that their view of language texts written by their most out- audience as works targeted to the public at Lithuania and Finland, among others). It cultural diversity is almost solely limited standing scientists. large. However the influence of entertain- is important to note that in all of these to what can be found within the English- ment literature in the English lang uage countries the great majority of translated speaking world. But we know that only 89ffbXjD\iZ_Xe[`j\ has not only thrown the English-speaking texts are from English. 3% of the books on the shelves in the Literature targeted to broad sectors market off-balance but also that of the It has been observed that in some cul- United States are translations, and many within the English-speaking world has other countries as well, given that today tures Ñ especially smaller ones Ñ which do of these books fit into the category of de- undergone a disturbing change. Books the majority of translations are of easy- a lot of translation, publication of works in contextualized, hybrid works: in short, have become book-shaped objects, lacking to-read, lightweight literature originally their own languages is quite low. Yet, at the cosmopolitan literature, conceived and any clearly-defined cultural value. What written in English. In addition, these easy- same time, all cultures, large and small, written for an international audience counts is the immediate profit from the sell titles are not presented abroad within open to works from the outside, have a without its own local interlocutor. sale. That is the sole objective of the best their original context, nor is there any follow 122 123 :feZclj`fej up by scholars once the book has sold. the authors and the translators), there is into its culture. Among the most worri- also focus their attention on it, thus This is also serving to wear away at the another direct consequence which canÕt some trends in the international liter- smoothing its way into a foreign countryÕs bridge between cultures that literature be overlooked. The existence of a semi- ary market is the impoverishment of the literary system. The first step, attracting has always provided. A translated book is clandestine network which produces and range of translated works. The number of the attention of specialized media, is a source of information on an unfamiliar distributes unauthorized copies hampers authors who obtain global recognition is already a difficult one in the case of trans- culture, not just an interesting story. the creation of publishing houses and steadily shrinking. lated works. The second step, however, is Literature depends on the book indus- bookstores. This applies to any country, practically impossible for those cultures try, but those responsible for delivering but especially to economically-weaker KiXejcXk`fe`ek_\?`jkfip without schools or universities abroad. books to the readers are the networks of countries. The situation in countries such f]C`k\iXkli\ Translators are not always conscious of bookstores and libraries. A translated book as Chile or Peru, where unauthorized The literature which has had most success the extent to which the effectiveness of cannot compete in the market under the reprints, or even photocopies, of books in bringing its authors into the English- their work depends on literary scholars. same conditions as a book published in its published in Spanish are circulating is speaking market is French literature. Ap- Government administrations, as well, original language. The degree to which it very different from what took place in proximately 30% of translations done in often overlook these steps which are critical does or does not make its mark, depends communist Europe with the circulation the United States are of books originally to a solid reception from abroad of a par- on the main distribution channels. In the of under ground editions known by the written in French. What is most extraor- ticular work and the culture it represents. United States many translations of Euro- name of samizdat. dinary about this fact is that the works Too often promotional efforts abroad are pean authors are published by small, in- In Eastern Europe, literature challenged translated are those of famous names in a one-shot event, and a headline in a leading dependent and non-profit presses. These repression by weaving an underground lit- literature, in literary criticism, in philoso- newspaper or good sales figures for a book publishers are often too small to act as erary exchange network. The books which phy and in other humanistic disciplines. seem to be enough. effective intermediaries and see that the circulated through this network aroused French literature proves, then, that with Only a literature which has an inter- book reaches all corners of the planet. A passions but, without a doubt, did not a good cultural policy it is possible to national network of scholars specialized translation, even one into English, can generate much profit; that was not their turn around the two negative trends the in that particular literature at its disposal, only be influential if it really manages aim. It is, however, the aim of the pirate substitution of the original language by is capable of introducing its classical authors to be accessible to the international aud- copies. This illegal business is damaging English in scientific texts, and the pre- to the international stage. A good example ience. It is not enough to just exist as a to writers and an obstacle to establishing dominance of lightweight quick-selling of just how difficult this process can be book. The large chains that control world publishing houses and bookstores but, literature. is that of the novel, Max Havelaar, one of distribution give priority to the mega-sell- beyond that, it encourages an attitude of In addition to the economic support the great classics of Dutch literature. In ers which literally strangle the provision thoughtless acceptance of foreign models. given to the promotion of French liter- spite of the fact that it was published by of other types of books in the stores. It is As these are copies meant for easy sale, ature, efforts are also made to organize a press as famous as Penguin Classics, it difficult to imagine what measures can be the ones that are put into circulation are conferences in foreign universities, and hasnÕt been able to make much of a mark taken to turn these trends around or limit books and translations which have had readings in bookstores and French lan- outside of Holland. If the translation is to their impact. proven success in other countries. g uage schools which provide a good con- create any long term effect, the audience Paradoxically, pirate copies end up be- text in which to more fully introduce the must be made to understand the work in @cc\^Xc:fg`\jf]9ffbj ing sound boxes for the trends imposed by writers and their works. its original context. Unfortunately, little The report on China reveals another prob- the large companies in the global market. In order to be noticed on the market, a attention is generally given to inviting and lem which has yet to be fully resolved: pi- Circulation of illegal copies undermines book must be reviewed and commented educating critics so that they can present rate copies. Aside from the fact that this the possibility of an autonomous decision upon by the critics. Further down the line, the translated work in its best light. This practice places authorÕs rights in peril and as to what books a given culture wishes if it hopes to become part of the canon, lit- need to create a framework of references does obvious economic damage (both to to know about, translate and incorporate erary historians and theoreticians must is also critical for the effective promotion 124 125 :feZclj`fej of more demanding genres, particularly of their countries. Putting a stop to, or Revolution, authors who didnÕt dare write Germany, a country traditionally open to poetry. obstructing, the free trade of books is a their own works for fear of persecution, translations. The Society for the Promo- clear sign of political repression within a translated the works which Marx or Lenin tion of African, Asian and Latin American Gfc`k`ZXc@dgc`ZXk`fejf]C`k\iXip society. had praised and, thus, through trans- Literature (Gesellschaft zur Frderung der KiXejcXk`fe A well-developed system of literary lations of Shakespeare or Balzac, were able Literatur aus Afrika, Asien und Lateinameri- The situation as it exists within the large translation demonstrates, above all, a to express their vision of the world and ca) and the Literary Colloquium of Berlin monolingual areas is clearly one of the curiosity for unfamiliar worlds, though withstand the ideological pressure. In other (Literarisches Colloquium Berlin) subsidize most interesting points that has come out sometimes this interest can become mixed cases, translation even helps to bridge translations in order to give German read- of this report. However, the report has not with a certain escapism. Translation of- physical distances: in Argentina, where a ers the opportunity to learn about liter- brought to light another very disturbing fers the chance to go beyond the limits of good part of the immigrant population atures that are less able to find their way attitude with regard to translation, and oneÕs own culture. Some small countries has maintained ties with their native onto the international market. that is fear and, even paranoia, experi- import an almost unbelievable quantity countries over generations, translation Traditionally, translation took on im- enced in relation to others. Since input for of books: in some places more than half has always been well-considered and seen portance primarily as a way to nurture the report has come only from countries of all books published are translations. as a way to overcome the sense of a given language with information from which translate works into their language There is a great eagerness to learn about isolation. other cultures. Translating The Bible or and whose works are translated out of other worlds, particularly in European Don Quixote in their entirety into a lan- their language, it is understandable that countries. >fm\ied\ekJlggfik]fiKiXejcXk`fe g uage not widely spoken, demonstrated almost no one has made reference to the This curiosity may be accompanied by One of the points that the different re- the capacity of a culture, small as it might situations in which a countryÕs borders re- the desire to stretch beyond the horizons ports have brought up in more detail, is be, to meet the highest literary standards. main practically sealed. of oneÕs own culture, particularly during the support given to literary translation But this center of gravity is changing In Lithuania a distant memory remains difficult periods. Even in the United States by public administrations. Having reviewe d andÑforcing the issue a bitÑwe could of the situation which existed during the we can see fluctuations in the number the main public policies for support, we say that today, the task of translation is Soviet era, when literary translation to of literary translations which increase during can conclude that translation is quite well exactly the opposite. Translations must Lithuanian was not greatly welcome. The periods of opposition to that countryÕs subsidized. Precisely because of that, demonstrate the importance of a culture PEN center which responded to the studyÕs own cultural models, as evidenced in the however, it is a potentially weak activity. by being able to find entry into a foreign questionnaire in the name of China does Ô60s during the Vietnam War. Trans lation A look at support given to translation on a literary environment. not exist within the countryÕs border: its also stretched out beyond the horizons of nation-to-nation basis within the larger A given literature is considered to have open attitude would not be tolerated. communist Europe and of Spain during international context will quickly show achieved success when it produces and ex- The Chinese government still today not the Franco dictatorship. In Catalonia, books that the countries with the fewest resources ports a great number of works; in contrast, only controls what books are imported, from other countries were a breath of publish fewer works abroad. Is that a fair however, the number of foreign works but also who can receive support for their fresh air during the years of dictatorship situation? imported doesnÕt seem to carry the same works by being translated or presented and brought with them freedom of Furthermore, the relative abundance weight. Translation has, over the years, en- abroad. During the Cold War, this type thought which, at the time, neither writers of subsidies has created a climate in which joyed a certain prestige because everyone of ideological censorship was a constant nor the man or woman on the street could a publisher is generally not willing to was aware of the importance of expand- in communist Europe, applied more or enjoy. publish a translation if it is not financed ing their cultural horizons by bringing in less strictly, depending upon the regime In China as wellÑand going well back by the country of origin of the work. Ways works from other cultures. But the atten- in question. At that time, the majority of in timeÑforeign literature is the most must be found to help correct this imbal- tion that the literature of one particular the writers who managed to have their popular and that which sells the best. ance. We can find exemplary models in culture receives abroad should not be an works translated were exiles living outside In the decades following the Cultural organizations existing, for example, in excuse to ignore other literatures. 126 127 :feZclj`fej There are many options available to In the case of China as well as other literature which comes into the country seeing the world has opened up. If we take find economic support for translations countries, translation and international as well as of the promotion of French into consideration the historic destiny of within the respective countries of origin, recognition of dissident authors has been writers abroad. the small countries of Europe, or those but what is lacking is the means to find able to bring about revised perceptions of Also, in the course of recent years, cul- which formed part of the Soviet Union, support for translation and promotion of the regime, both within the country and tures existing within states that are not the struggle to preserve cultural identity literary works from the country receiving from the outside. Translation has great their ownÑas is the case of the Catalan cul- is no longer an isolated anecdote, as it the translation. As a result, it is difficult subversive power. But in order to assure ture Ñ are receiving greater international could have seemed in the past when the not to fall into the trap of only promoting its creative capacity and true subversive visibility. This change has come about as a most distant point on the horizon was the those writers who are ÒofficiallyÓ consid- power, literature must maintain a certain result of the important political changes country next door. ered to be most important: in those coun- independence from political power; it which have taken place in Europe since Standing up for oneÕs own culture no tries where freedom of expression and must become a space of freedom, untainted the early 1980s and which brought about longer carries with it the stigma of pro- democracy are under threat, official sub- by official political entities or dogma. the fall of the Berlin Wall. While in post- vincialism, as it once may have. The idea sidies only go to those writers with close Democratic countries often forget the war Europe nobody questioned the divi- that in order to be considered important connections to the regime in power. great lack of liberty of expression prevailing sion of Germany into two different states a culture has to be big and fit within the in certain countries. If all works that were with, consequently, two different Ònat- confines of an internationally-recognized KiXejcXk`feXe[=i\\[fdf] translated required government support, ionalÓ literatures, and the Soviet Union state is no longer a generally-accepted On Translating and Being Translated EXiZj:fdX[`iX%:XkXcXegf\k#kiXejcXkfiXe[gX`ek\i I know I will annoy many writers and readers if I say that being read and understoodÑ communicating, as they sayÑis by no means the first aim of literature. The first aim of literature is the construction of the work. It is accomplishing the writerÕs obsession to create an artifact, in this case a literary one, that will function as well as possible. It is feeling the satisfaction of choosing and combining words, of tightening up syntax, of moulding a form: the fulfilment of constructing a work of art. Later, and only later, comes the reader. And this reader is, first of all, the writer. The writer constructs for the pleasure of doing so and then, in part as a reader, to understand the world and unders- tand himself or herself. The writer gives shape to deep experience and hence objectively possesses it. When all this is done, then, and only then, the reader who is other than the writer enters the scene, the invited reader, first of all in the authorÕs own linguistic milieu. Next come growing numbers of invited readers and thus translation into other languages. Translating a text into other languages to increase the number of readers is important. But the role of translating in literature is much more important than increa- sing the number of readers. In fact, translation comes into play earlier. It is there from the very start. Writing, for a writer, is to translate his or her own individual language, full of idiosyncratic idioms, family twists, semantic deviations, slangÑspur of the moment or baggage of educationÑinto a language that, while still conserving the warmth and vitality of this personal language, is to be understood by all those who belong to the same linguistic milieu. Writing, then, is translating. And once the work is written, the reader from the same linguistic milieu must also translate it from the common language into his or her personal language so as to understand the text in a way that is alive, warm, mov- ingÑthe things that really count. Reading is also translating, translating within the same language. 130 135 Next, so that the form in which we have written can be read and understood in other linguistic settings, the work must undergo the process of translation, strictly speaking. The form in which we have written the work needs to be transformed so that it will function within another system of signs, and hence it needs somebody to transfer it into another language. But it isnÕt enough for the translator merely to know the language from which the work is being translated; what must also be known, as well as possible, is the personal language and idiosyncratic features of the author whose work is being translated, not only to offer the general sense of the common language in which the author has established the text, but also its more intimate sense. Then, evidently, the translator must know the language into which the translation is being done and be capa ble of offering in this lang- The Language of Languages uage what he or she has deeply understood. Here too, a double translation must be made, E^lu^ëunXK_`fe^Ëf%B\epXeefm\c`jkXe[gcXpni`^_k#`jk_\[`i\Zkfif]k_\ into the common language of the translatorÕs linguistic milieu of course, but also into the @ek\ieXk`feXc:\ek\i]fiNi`k`e^Xe[KiXejcXk`fe#Le`m\ij`kpf]:Xc`]fie`XXk@im`e\ translatorÕs own literary sensibility, for only through personal linguistic idiosyncrasy can the translator provide a faithful rendition of the first translation that the author has pro- duced in the act of writing. All in all, it seems complicated, and is. It is difficult to translate Translation is as old as nature and nurture. Nature itself is a multicultural environ- successfully. However, the risk must be taken, and one must dare to wish to be translated ment where different formations, organic and inorganic, live in constant exchange, because, without translation, oneÕs works would be no more than a closed exercise within even when that exchange is hostile to certain species. Nurture is literally a translation oneÕs own system, which, in the long term, can be debilitating. And while it is well-known from nature, just as cyberture today is a translation from nurture. Different reli gions, that a language is revitalised by importing the forms of other languages through trans- particularly the ones which have spread beyond their original shores, attest to the lation, I also think that when a language has to go into another language, it very often dis- necessity and power of translation. The different European national literatures that covers its own intrinsic deficiencies and this awareness is useful for forcing the language emerged with the Renaissance got their national life and character from translations to find forms of genuine enrichment, fertile flexibilities, transmittable constructions, and from Greek and Latin and from their rival contemporaries. idioms that confer nuances. European languages vis--vis those from Africa, Asia, South America, Native North Translating and being translated are indispensable for the healthy development of a lan- America, in their service to imperialism, have played the role of enabling the visibility of guage and indispensable, too, for being able to fine-tune oneÕs own language so as to acquire colonized and marginalized cultures, but they have done so by uprooting native voices an ever more sensitive instrument for the first aim of writing I mentioned at the outset: the from those very cultures and languages. What is needed is a new role for those languages construction of a form. Translating and being translated mean that the mental, instrumen- like English, which have become dominant actors in the globe for whatever reason, that tal, sentimental and cognitive fields of a language can expand, and that, in the long term, enables the visibility and even the exchange of different voices without disabling them. the language that has been able to translate and to be translated is now better equipped to Thus we need to adopt a new slogan: enable and not disable. slip into increasingly subtle forms, into forms that read the world and that understand it in ever-greater depth. Translating and being translated mean advancing closer and closer to Translation seen as conversationÑfor conversation assumes equality among the speak- true global understanding, an understanding that does not eschew idiosyncrasies, an under- ersÑis clearly the language of languages, the language that all languages should speak. standing that does not reduce the world to one single and thus impoverished language and Thus we should move into a world where this common language of languages is alive and to one single reductive and primary way of thinking. Such a reduction might seem useful well and recognized in our everyday lives. Translation between the dominant languages for exploitation but only because it is founded on illiteracy. The language of the world has and marginalized languages; translation between marginalized languages; translation to be translation. Anything else would be simplification, impoverishment, intellectual as the common language of languages should go a long way towards enabling dialogues abjection. Anything else would be to squander the immense richness of the worldÕs personal among the different world cultures, large or small. In contrast to Western self-aggrandizing and linguistic idiosyncrasies, and revert to utter barbarism. globalization, we could create a better cultural foundation for egalitarian globalism. :feZclj`fej