Alane Salierno Mason Commends Polyglot Publishers
- 6 years ago
A few stoic houses are carrying the torch for literature in translation.
Question: Which publishers are promoting works in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: Well there's Archipelago Books provided by Joe Schulman; they are devoted entirely to literature in translation, which really makes them unique. There is Open Letter Press run by Chad Post—who is a very dynamic and articulate advocate for translation. He had been at Delphi/Archive and then started this new imprint at University of Rochester Press. They are going to be publishing the next "Words Without Borders" anthology, a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, coming out this November. Judith Gurewich, who was a psychologist or psychoanalyst who is I believe Hungarian-born, started a publisher which has done a lot of translation.
Of course, Farrar Strauss, Knopf, Ecco, and Metropolitan still play an important role, but they are under pressure from the larger corporations that own them so there is limit to what they can do.
Question: How does the Internet facilitate literature in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: A number of the authors that we have published have then gone on to get book contracts because they got noticed through our efforts. It also certainly makes it easier in practical terms to be in touch with authors in foreign countries and with translators and editors who are living abroad. It makes it possible to feature the original language text alongside the English translation, which is fun for students of foreign languages, and because it is accessible everywhere—50% of our readers are actually not in the United States—it enables somebody in Iran to read a piece from Indonesia even if they don't read Indonesian.
Recorded on: June 5, 2009
Question: Which publishers are promoting works in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: Well there's Archipelago Books provided by Joe Schulman; they are devoted entirely to literature in translation, which really makes them unique. There is Open Letter Press run by Chad Post—who is a very dynamic and articulate advocate for translation. He had been at Delphi/Archive and then started this new imprint at University of Rochester Press. They are going to be publishing the next "Words Without Borders" anthology, a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, coming out this November. Judith Gurewich, who was a psychologist or psychoanalyst who is I believe Hungarian-born, started a publisher which has done a lot of translation.
Of course, Farrar Strauss, Knopf, Ecco, and Metropolitan still play an important role, but they are under pressure from the larger corporations that own them so there is limit to what they can do.
Question: How does the Internet facilitate literature in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: A number of the authors that we have published have then gone on to get book contracts because they got noticed through our efforts. It also certainly makes it easier in practical terms to be in touch with authors in foreign countries and with translators and editors who are living abroad. It makes it possible to feature the original language text alongside the English translation, which is fun for students of foreign languages, and because it is accessible everywhere—50% of our readers are actually not in the United States—it enables somebody in Iran to read a piece from Indonesia even if they don't read Indonesian.
Recorded on: June 5, 2009
Question: Which publishers are promoting works in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: Well there's Archipelago Books provided by Joe Schulman; they are devoted entirely to literature in translation, which really makes them unique. There is Open Letter Press run by Chad Post—who is a very dynamic and articulate advocate for translation. He had been at Delphi/Archive and then started this new imprint at University of Rochester Press. They are going to be publishing the next "Words Without Borders" anthology, a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, coming out this November. Judith Gurewich, who was a psychologist or psychoanalyst who is I believe Hungarian-born, started a publisher which has done a lot of translation.
Of course, Farrar Strauss, Knopf, Ecco, and Metropolitan still play an important role, but they are under pressure from the larger corporations that own them so there is limit to what they can do.
Question: How does the Internet facilitate literature in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: A number of the authors that we have published have then gone on to get book contracts because they got noticed through our efforts. It also certainly makes it easier in practical terms to be in touch with authors in foreign countries and with translators and editors who are living abroad. It makes it possible to feature the original language text alongside the English translation, which is fun for students of foreign languages, and because it is accessible everywhere—50% of our readers are actually not in the United States—it enables somebody in Iran to read a piece from Indonesia even if they don't read Indonesian.
Recorded on: June 5, 2009
Question: Which publishers are promoting works in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: Well there's Archipelago Books provided by Joe Schulman; they are devoted entirely to literature in translation, which really makes them unique. There is Open Letter Press run by Chad Post—who is a very dynamic and articulate advocate for translation. He had been at Delphi/Archive and then started this new imprint at University of Rochester Press. They are going to be publishing the next "Words Without Borders" anthology, a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, coming out this November. Judith Gurewich, who was a psychologist or psychoanalyst who is I believe Hungarian-born, started a publisher which has done a lot of translation.
Of course, Farrar Strauss, Knopf, Ecco, and Metropolitan still play an important role, but they are under pressure from the larger corporations that own them so there is limit to what they can do.
Question: How does the Internet facilitate literature in translation?
Alane Salierno Mason: A number of the authors that we have published have then gone on to get book contracts because they got noticed through our efforts. It also certainly makes it easier in practical terms to be in touch with authors in foreign countries and with translators and editors who are living abroad. It makes it possible to feature the original language text alongside the English translation, which is fun for students of foreign languages, and because it is accessible everywhere—50% of our readers are actually not in the United States—it enables somebody in Iran to read a piece from Indonesia even if they don't read Indonesian.
Recorded on: June 5, 2009