Literary translations
Why mine are safely tucked away in a drawer - for the time being ...
Originally, I was trained to be a specialised translator. In this profession, it is important to specialise in a certain subject area and, while translating, to stay close to the original text and use words that are factual, prosaic, and often even formulaic. Literary translations, however, are completely different and have fascinated me for a long time. Here, linguistic skills are in the foreground. Literary work shall be transferred into a different language with all its facets, images and subtle words – and in a way that the reader is not even aware that they are reading a translation. Literary translations also require a surprisingly great extent of general knowledge, but it is not nearly as specialised and dry as the knowledge used in a specialised translation.
Eventually I set about translating the first short story, out of curiosity and because I like working with languages. At first, I did this only for myself and to fill my drawer with the translation. (Aha, the drawer!) Perhaps its time would come one day … It was a lot of fun, and so, in the course of time, further translations followed: texts from children’s books, more stories, and a short novel. One of these short stories had been self-published in Great Britain. I contacted the author in London and suggested I find a German publisher for his short stories translated by me. His answer was: ‘That‘s great! Go for it!’ So I contacted many publishing houses and received a lot of responses, many of which showed interest – but none of it was positive. In the end, the problem was the genre and the fact that short stories are rather hard to sell.
Unfortunately, literary translators are paid not very well for their valuable work and in most cases, they cannot live off it alone. Moreover, it is not that easy for a translator to gain a foothold in a publishing house. The publishing business in Germany is comparatively small, and without a recommendation, many an editor will hesitate to trust an unknown translator with a translation project which runs for several months and ends with a strict deadline. Thus literary translators initially need time and plenty of patience in order to establish themselves, much love for creative translations – and, unfortunately, enough better-paid jobs to balance out their finances.
I currently lack the time for extra literary projects. But when I take a look in my drawer, I know that I certainly don’t lack the love for creative translations …
Why mine are safely tucked away in a drawer - for the time being ...
Originally, I was trained to be a specialised translator. In this profession, it is important to specialise in a certain subject area and, while translating, to stay close to the original text and use words that are factual, prosaic, and often even formulaic. Literary translations, however, are completely different and have fascinated me for a long time. Here, linguistic skills are in the foreground. Literary work shall be transferred into a different language with all its facets, images and subtle words – and in a way that the reader is not even aware that they are reading a translation. Literary translations also require a surprisingly great extent of general knowledge, but it is not nearly as specialised and dry as the knowledge used in a specialised translation.
Eventually I set about translating the first short story, out of curiosity and because I like working with languages. At first, I did this only for myself and to fill my drawer with the translation. (Aha, the drawer!) Perhaps its time would come one day … It was a lot of fun, and so, in the course of time, further translations followed: texts from children’s books, more stories, and a short novel. One of these short stories had been self-published in Great Britain. I contacted the author in London and suggested I find a German publisher for his short stories translated by me. His answer was: ‘That‘s great! Go for it!’ So I contacted many publishing houses and received a lot of responses, many of which showed interest – but none of it was positive. In the end, the problem was the genre and the fact that short stories are rather hard to sell.
Unfortunately, literary translators are paid not very well for their valuable work and in most cases, they cannot live off it alone. Moreover, it is not that easy for a translator to gain a foothold in a publishing house. The publishing business in Germany is comparatively small, and without a recommendation, many an editor will hesitate to trust an unknown translator with a translation project which runs for several months and ends with a strict deadline. Thus literary translators initially need time and plenty of patience in order to establish themselves, much love for creative translations – and, unfortunately, enough better-paid jobs to balance out their finances.
I currently lack the time for extra literary projects. But when I take a look in my drawer, I know that I certainly don’t lack the love for creative translations …