Books in Translation
June 28, 2005
"We keep on wanting to look out to sea, because the sea is as unforgettable as it is unmemorable."
"If you speak Spanish or French or Italian or German, or any of a dozen other languages," says John Carey in today's Guardian, "and walk into your local bookstore, you will ... find what is being imagined in China, what stories are being told in Korea, how the novel is being reinvented in Spain and the Scandinavian countries. But if you live in England you will find no such abundance." This is sadly true, and undermining the narrow-mindedness of conventional publishers and booksellers is partly what the Internet's for. I've mentioned them before, but I'd recommend a look around Babelguides and World Literature Today if you feel you're not getting enough foreign lit.
Comments
Another good source for international literature is www.wordswithoutborders.org.
Posted by: Norm at June 29, 2005 06:22 PM
Thanks, Norm - it's there in the links on the left but I forgot about it! If anyone knows any more...
Posted by: Jonathan at June 29, 2005 08:05 PM
I know three months have passed since you posted this, but having worked at a (very small--basically me when I worked there) publishing company that specialized in translations, I have to say it is a terrible business to go into. There is very little money in mid-list books anyway (in most books outside blockbusters), and when you add the costs of translating and the attitude of readers to translations (for most it's a negative rather than a positive) ...
Of course, nobody works with books for the money (or not for long anyway).
Posted by: Junio at September 29, 2005 08:18 PM
Junio: I suppose that anyone who works selling books in translation is a hero, but a poor one. Well done for having at least given it a go!
Posted by: Jonathan at October 3, 2005 01:47 AM
Post a comment