Open Letter In the New York Times
Over Christmas, the New York Times ran a great articles on literature in translation and our friends at Open Letter Books.
The publishing industry is in a tailspin; translated works account for, at best, 3 percent of the American book market; and budgets for higher education are shrinking. But none of this seems to deter Open Letter Books, a small, year-old press here affiliated with the University of Rochester that publishes nothing but literature in translation.
“There’s a set of readers out there that’s very interested in translations and international literature and is not getting what it wants,” said Chad W. Post, Open Letter’s director. “So we believe our business model can work. American literature has a lot of great works. But English-speaking readers don’t have full access to voices and viewpoints from around the world, and we’re trying to rectify that.”
Though none of Open Letter’s 16 titles has yet sold more than 3,000 copies, its efforts have quickly attracted attention and critical praise. Open Letter books, including the recently published “Season of Ash,” by the Mexican novelist Jorge Volpi, have appeared on Best of 2009 lists; and Amazon.com, which has begun an effort to bring more international writers to the attention of American readers, recently awarded Open Letter a $20,000 grant to support publication of “The Wall in My Head,” an anthology by East European writers about the collapse of Communism there.
The world of American publishers specializing in translation is small, and each house has adopted a slightly different strategy to stay afloat. Archipelago Books has gone the nonprofit route and solicits tax-deductible contributions; Europa Editions is the extension of an Italian house and publishes only trade paperbacks; and the Dalkey Archive Press, where Mr. Post, 34, worked until coming here, is both a nonprofit entity and, like Open Letter, tied to an academic institution, the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Read the full article at New York Times
December 27 2009
Hunger, Pregnancy, and Being Numerous: Tin House's Interview with Amélie Nothomb
Below a snippet from Heather Hartley's interview with Amélie Nothomb (Tokyo Fiancée) appearing in this month's Tin House Magazine. The printed edition also includes an extract from Amélie's Hygiene and the Assassin, due out in fall 2010.
(Complete interview online at TinHouse.com)
AN: I’m a numerous being. I am numerous. [Je suis un être nombreux. Je suis nombreuse.] Writing for me is a descent into myself to a place where I’m entirely porous and where I can let myself be completely penetrated or possessed by all the individuals I could have been in all of humanity. It’s very destabilizing to live through this yourself, and I know that it’s also very destabilizing for many of my readers. It’s something that comes back to me a lot.
I’m a “bestseller,” so I have all sorts of different readers, and among these, some who regularly ask me, “But why have you written this awful book? When I see you, you’re in good health, you look happy, you have a good life . . . Why did you write that?” And I say to them, “You’re absolutely right. There’s no good reason.” Rather, it’s just that I let myself be open to all of that.
HH: Yes, the seed comes and—
AN: That’s it.
HH: And you can do nothing?
AN: Exactly. I can’t do anything.
Read the complete interview on TinHouse.com
December 22 2009
Seattle Times, Publishers Weekly, and Washington Post All Name Gardam's "Wooden Hat" One of the Best books of 2009
The Seattle Times book reviewers Robert Allen Papinchak and Mary Ann Gwinn name the best books of 2009. All hail the printed word!
"The Man in the Wooden Hat" by Jane Gardam (Europa Editions). Gardam's new novel is the perfect companion to her previous book,"Old Filth." This time, Gardam presents the story of Sir Edward Feathers from the point of view of his wife, Betty, revealing significant facts about their relationship, their marriage and the secrets that were only hinted at in "Old Filth." Readers can start with the second book, but it might be more rewarding to read them in the order of publication.
The Washington Post's Jonathan Yardley chooses The Man in the Wooden Hat as one of the Best Books of 2009.
The Man in the Wooden Hat continues the story of the marriage of Edward and Betty Feathers, which Gardam began three years ago in "Old Filth"; that one was from the husband's viewpoint, this one is from the wife's, and both are surprising and wise, especially on the subject of marriage itself.
And, lastly, Publishers Weekly named Man in the Wooden Hat one of the best books of 2009 back in November.
December 21 2009
Tokyo Fiancée Named One of the Best Books of 2009
David Burleigh from the Japan Times has named Amélie Nothomb's Tokyo Fiancée one of the best books of 2009. Meanwhile, (unofficial) word has it that Amélie's story of love in the land of the rising sun has been nominated for the Three Percent Best Translated Book award.
from Japan Times
"Fate, renowned for it sense of humor, decreed that I should be born Belgian," writes the quirky Francophone novelist Amelie Nothomb, who was actually born in Kobe, and came back to Japan as an adult. "Before Japan, I'd never thought about writing seriously," claims the now-successful author of two-dozen books, this being the second to deal with her short-lived return. The odd mixture of nostalgia for the land of her childhood, engagement in every sense, and finally recoil, is eagerly recounted. Mount Fuji may be a dormant (not a "dead") volcano, but Nothomb's tale is a spirited, refreshing, highly entertaining read.
December 20 2009
Gourmet Rhapsody Shortlisted - World's Best Book on Food!
Congratulations to author, Muriel Barbery, and translator, Alison Anderson!
In an odd twist, Muriel Barbery's novel Gourmet Rhapsody will represent the USA in the category "Best Translation" at next February's Gourmand Awards for the Best Book on Food to be held at the Paris Cookbook Fair, February 11-15, 2010.
Well deserved recognition not only for the author but for Alison Anderson, who also translated Ms. Barbery's earlier novel, The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
December 02 2009
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