Halfway there…
Can you name a single translator? If you have a favorite author who writes in another language, do you know who he or she is translated by?
I’ve always been very particular about my translations. In a bookstore, I can often be seen comparing all versions available. This often requires advanced juggling skills and is sometimes a very difficult decision indeed. Translation is a extremely challenging occupation. I’ve been even more aware of the difficulties since I began seriously learning a second language. Languages are not just coded versions of each other. It’s a hell of a lot more complicated than that. So, I was quite pleased when I heard that the Man Booker people were offering a prize for translators. I was rather disappointed when I heard the details though. The new Man Booker International Prize will be offered to a living writer who has an impressive body of work that has had international impact. If they are translated, an additional £15,000 will be added to the award money and the author is left to divvy it up between his or her various translators, as the author sees fit. Sadly, if your author dies (i.e.: Saul Bellow was one of the contenders) or the authors you translate are already long dead (i.e.: Homer, Tolstoy…) this prize is not for you.
Why didn’t they just make it for a living translator? That would have been much more respectful of the job, not to mention much more interesting.
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