2014 PEN/Heim Translation Series
PEN’s 2014 Translation Series focuses on the recipients of this year’s PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, with an amazing array of projects from around the world. Included in the series you’ll find treasures like Eric Becker’s translation of a previously unpublished short story by Mozambican author Mia Couto, Sholeh Wolpé’s translation from Persian of Farid ud-Din Attar’s beautiful The Conference of the Birds, and Zachary Ludington’s translation of Agustín Fernández Mallo’s kaleidoscopic Pixel Flesh. We also asked this year’s PEN/Heim translators to write short essays about what originally drew them to their projects and why they matter now.
The PEN/Heim Translation Fund, now in its eleventh year, awards grants of $2,000 to $4,000 to promote the publication and reception of translated world literature in English. Among the 50 projects awarded grants in the Fund’s first five years of operation, 39 have been published or are forthcoming from a publisher. We hope to increase that number with this year’s projects.
Kaleidoscopic Vision: On Translating Agustín Fernández Mallo
"Fernández Mallo simply needs to be heard in English because he has become so important in Spain, all the while representing a great interest in and awareness of globalization.… More
Pixel Flesh
These poems are excerpted from Pixel Flesh, a haunting translation of prose poetry collection by Agustín Fernández Mallo, who has pioneered an important shift in contemporary Spanish writing and… More
The Conference of the Birds
Farid ud-Din Attar is one of the greatest Sufi mystic poets of Iran. Sholeh Wolpé's artful and exquisite modern translation brings one of the definitive masterpieces of Persian literature… More
Simorgh, Thirty Birds: On Translating Farid ud-Din Attar
"As a poet, I believe that the act of translation is that of recreation. A translator of poetry can become the unwitting destroyer of poems, or alternately, a creator… More
Turns of Verse: On Translating Per Aage Brandt
"There’s hardly anything in the world that fails to interest [Per Aage Brandt], and nothing that he fails to make more interesting once he’s written about it." More
New and Selected Poetry of Per Aage Brandt
One of Denmark’s most distinguished poets and scholars, Per Aage is writing his best poetry today, in the twilight of a long and prolific career. Satterlee’s translation recreates the… More
Lunfardo y Vesre: On Translating Guillermo Saccomanno
"It’s a (perverse) joy to slip into the skins of the myriad characters who populate this abundant novel, to speak in their voices and occupy, albeit momentarily, their place… More
Gesell Dome
In this excerpt from Argentine novelist's Dashiell Hammett prize-wining book, a bleak seaside resort tensely awaiting the arrival of the next tourist season is viewed through a Faulknerian lens.… More
PEN Announces 2014 Translation Fund Winners
From a field of 120 applicants, the Fund’s Advisory Board has selected fifteen projects for funding. More
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