The Empty Briefcase
Lola Rogers on translation and the rapid rise of language machines, first published in The Author, the journal of the Society of Authors.
That is so weird
Translating the weird worlds of Johanna Sinisalo – From Seattle Review of Books
Finding Each Other
Finnish literature in English has gone mainstream – Centennial guest column for Kiiltomato magazine
On Contracts: Unsolicited Advice for Literary Translators
Negotiating contracts can be full of pitfalls and challenges, but good contracts are a translator’s lifeline. In this essay, Finnish-English translator Owen Witesman delves into best practices, strategies, and current trends in contracts for literary translation.
Translation, Pleasure, and Responsibility
‘Translation, Pleasure, and Responsibility’ explores the controversial and ethically complex question of the ‘domestication’ of literary texts in translation. It examines this issue as it concerns texts set in the target culture, using the example of the forthcoming novel Mr Darwin’s Gardener by Kristina Carlson – set in England and recently translated into English by Emily and Fleur Jeremiah – to make a case for readerly pleasure as a desirable aim of translation.
Finnish Literature in English: A Tiny Boom
Interest in Finnish literature has been slowly but steadily increasing in the English-speaking world.
Translating The Brothers by Asko Sahlberg
When I first came upon Asko Sahlberg’s novel The Brothers (He, 2009), I was impressed by its taut, poetic style, its savage, …
Moomins, and the meanings of our lives
Tove Jansson’s Moomin books are widely cherished by children and adults alike. They are funny and charming yet haunting and profound. Lovable Moomintroll; practical and sensible Moominmama; spiky Little My; the terrifying yet complex monster, Groke – Jansson’s creations linger in the mind.
Bright, Dusky, Bright: Translating Eeva-Liisa Manner
The poems of Eeva-Liisa Manner (1921–95) are lucid yet mysterious. They are haunted by echoes, steps, shadows, reflections; but they evoke ghostliness with utter clarity.
On the Rocky Road to a Good Translation
I am a professional translator, and I have a secret: I don’t read translations much. Shocked? Don’t be.