The National Endowment for the Arts announced a new round of 13 translation fellowships, one of which, in the amount of $20,000, goes to AATIA member Michele Aynesworth to support the translation from French of In So Corrupt an Age, the journal of Charles Rist.

A successful economist living in Paris, Rist (1874-1955) began keeping a personal journal in 1939, the day after Germany’s invasion of Poland. The daily entries record his reflections on the war and occupation. The journal bears witness to events of national and international importance, but also traces the more personal dealings of Rist’s family and friends. Written in the self-reflective tradition of Montaigne, the 470-page journal ends in 1945, with the author’s reaction to the Nuremberg trials.

These NEA grants will support the translation of six works of prose, including a play, and seven works of poetry. The works will be translated from nine languages including Japanese, Czech, Portuguese, and medieval Cretan Greek. The NEA also announced significant changes to the guidelines for the Literary Translation fellowships, to foster more translations of world literature into English.

"One of the most profound ways to engage citizens of different countries with each other is through literature, but most of us will never be able to read much of the world’s literature except in translation," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "I am delighted to announce these grants and the program’s new guidelines that will expand opportunities for literary translators and help grow the translation field."

Aynesworth received her doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. She has also translated the novel Mad Toy by Argentine writer Roberto Arlt. She is an Associate Professor of English at Huston-Tillotson University, Retired.

Bill Marx of Public Radio International’s World Books has posted a 26-minute podcast interview with Marian Schwartz, whose retranslation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s The White Guard was recently released by Yale University Press, as reported here earlier this summer. (Don’t miss the related Geo Quiz.)

The interview [taped August 13] is really interesting, touching on why people should read The White Guard in addition to The Master and Margarita, what some of the issues were with the previous translation, and, on a related note, how onomatopoeia works in the new version.

This translation also received a favorable comment in an article in The Independent.

Esther Diaz has been tapped to deliver the keynote address for the Medical Friday and TAPIT Conference, to be held on September 12 – 14 in Nashville.

Sponsored by the Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators (TAPIT), the three-day conference will offer practical, actionable tools for judiciary, medical, and community interpreters and translators.

Diaz will also speak on “Women’s Health, the Digestive System, Medical Terminology” and “National Certification: Where do we stand?” Other topics include the following:

• Interpreting for Children in Medical, Forensic and Legal Settings
• General English-Spanish Terminology for Immigration Matters
• Interpreting for the Deaf from Other Countries
• Expert Testimony on Tape Transcription and Translation
• Best Business Practices and more!
• Intonation Patterns
• Phone Interpretation

The TAPIT website has complete Medical Friday and TAPIT Conference information.

At the July membership meeting AATIA President Michael Blumenthal welcomed Jonathan Cole to the Board of Directors as Interim Director of Finance and thanked outgoing board member Al Favela for his years of service as Finance Director.

Approximately 50 members and guests attended the meeting, which featured Marianne Martinez, International Program Coordinator for the City of Austin, who gave a fascinating presentation on the Sister Cities program housed at the International Center of Austin.  The concept of International Sister Cities, the umbrella program, was first introduced by President Eisenhower to build international relationships and promote global exchange. 

Austin has ten Sister Cities: Adelaide, Australia; Koblenz, Germany; Lima, Peru; Maseru, Lesotho; Oita, Japan; Saltillo, Mexico; Taichung, Taiwan; Xishuangbann, China; Old Orlu, Nigeria; and Gwangmyeong, Korea.

Secretary Julie Nordskog introduced Nominating Committee members Carlota Grimes (Chair), Marco Hansen, and Carolina Modesto. She also encouraged members to contact a committee member or herself in order to run and/or suggest candidates for the 2009 Board of Directors.  The deadline for nominations is August 15.

Today’s Wall Street Journal gives a glowing review of Marian Schwartz’s translation of White Guard, the first novel by Mikhail Bulgakov (1891–1940), famed Soviet-era author best known for Master and Margarita.

Written in the 1920s, White Guard focuses on the household of Dr. Alexei Tuchin, his sister and brother, and assorted military officers and friends.

The unnamed urban locality at the novel’s center is clearly Kiev a year after the Bolsheviks seized power.

The remains of the Russian Empire are in turmoil, none more so than Ukraine, where the civil war is raging with particular ferocity. No fewer than 18 different regimes — led by Germans, Poles, Ukrainian nationalists, monarchists known as the Whites and the Bolsheviks themselves — will eventually claim control of Kiev, lifting their banners over the ancient city.

With this edition of White Guard, translator Marian Schwartz has done a handsome job of matching Bulgakov’s rich Russian vocabulary and attention to meticulous detail.

Elke Wehr — one of Germany’s best known Spanish translators — died last Friday in Berlin, at age 62, according to Suhrkamp Publishers of Frankfurt. Wehr gained notoriety with her translations of key works by Javier Marías of Spain, Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru, Julio Cortázar of Argentina, and Octavio Paz of Mexico, among others. In 2006, she was awarded the Paul Celan Prize by the German Literary Fund in recognition of her works, particularly her translation of Paraguayan author Augusto Roa Bastos’ masterpiece Yo, el Supremo which was considered the most difficult adaption.

She was not only an extraordinary translator, but also took it upon herself to discover new authors, according to Jürgen Dormagen of Suhrkamp. Wehr’s last translation was the novel Los días azules by Colombian author Fernando Vallejo, whose German edition will be published this August.

The final issue of The AATIA Letter is now online. This (July 2008) issue provides advance details about September’s Translation Tools workshop, led by Jost Zetzsche, and AATIA’s July 12 member meeting, which will spotlight Austin’s Sister Cities.

It also contains farewells from regular columnist and cartoonist Tony Beckwith and editor Michael Conner, plus a recap of entries posted on the blog in the period since the previous issue of the newsletter.

Citing an increased work load in his freelance translation business, Al Favela has announced that he is stepping down from his position as AATIA Director of Finance, effective immediately. The Board is grateful to Al for his years of service to the Association in this capacity.

Members interested in volunteering for the role of Director of Finance are asked to contact Secretary Julie Nordskog.