Posted on November 18, 2009 by Scott Esposito

Susan Bernofsky: Rediscovering a Lost Genius

How did everyone forget about Robert Walser? Although titians like Franz Kafka and Robert Musil celebrated him, Robert Walser went ignore for many years and has only recently begun attracting readers in the United States. After being featured in publications like The New Yorker and Harper’s over the past few years, this literary master has developed a growing following among American readers.

Here Susan Bernofsky reads from her acclaimed translation of his first novel The Tanners. She also discusses his “microscripts,” stories he wrote in handwriting so tiny that only a few experts can today read them. A noted translator of internationally acclaimed authors like Yoko Tawada and Hermann Hesse, Bernofsky is an ideal guide to the unique writing and stirring thoughts of an author now being hailed—for a second time—as a literary genius.

Breon Mitchell: Retranslating a Masterpiece

Why retranslate a classic author? And if you’re going to do it, how do you do it right? Breon Mitchell talks about his translation of Günter Grass’s masterpiece, The Tin Drum. You can hear Mitchell himself reading from his excellent new translation. He also discusses why it was important to give readers a second translation of The Tin Drum and talks about the unique collaboration with Grass that made such a daunting work possible.

Natasha Wimmer: Translating a Literary Superstar

Hear Natasha Wimmer, translator of the blockbuster novels The Savage Detectives and 2666, discuss Roberto Bolano and his two major novels. She also reads her translation-in-progress of Bolano’s unpublished essay collection Entre parentesis (”Between Parentheses”) and discusses Bolano’s unpublished manuscripts.

Novelist Jose Manuel Prieto in Conversation with Translator Esther Allen

Bringing together Proust, Borges, and diamond forgery, Rex by Cuban author Jose Manuel Prieto garnered widespread praise in 2009. Here Prieto discusses his acclaimed novel with translator Esther Allen, as well as what it was like immigrating from sunny Cuba to freezing Russia, the importance of Proust to Cuban literature and much more. In both English and Spanish.

Translator Fady Joudah Reads Mahmoud Darwish

Mahmoud Darwish has been called Palestine’s most important poet, and he is often compared in stature to giants like Czeslaw Milosz. Darwish is credited with being a major part of developing the Palestinian identity, and when he died in 2008 he was widely mourned throughout Palestine. Hear Fady Joudah read from his award-winning translations of this major Arabic poet. Joudah spirited delivery is clear and powerful, making it a perfect match for Darwish’s strident language.

Novelist Yoko Tawada Discusses Writing Between Languages and Cultures

In The Naked Eye, acclaimed Japanese author Yoko Tawada wrote in two languages at once: German and Japanese. Here Tawada discusses what it’s like writing in two languages and how it makes a writer approach a book in a complete different way. She also talks about why she would do that and the issues it poses for a translator.

Translator Karen Emmerich on Greek Literature

Mention Greek literature and people think of ancient works like The Odyssey and The Illiad. But as translator Karen Emmerich proves, there’s a whole lot going on in Greek literature today. In this audio recording, Emmerich introduces you to four new Greek writers, all available in English translation. You can hear her read directly from each writer’s work, as well as explain how each writer fits into Greek literature and why he or she is worth being translated.

Translator Katherine Silver on Horacio Castellanos Moya

When’s the last time you read a novel from Central America? What about one that’s about a brutal 30-year civil war? Compared to Roberto Bolano and the great Austrian novelist Thomas Bernhard, Horacio Castellanos Moya has attracted a devoted following in English with his first translated novel, Senselessness, about a man who slowly goes insane while reading about the dead from Guatemala’s civil war. Hear Katherine Silver read from her translation of Horacio Castellanos Moya’s novel Senselessness and discuss this important work.

Poet and Translator Robert Hass On Haiku and Czeslaw Milosz

How do you go from translating classical Japanese to translating one of Poland’s most important 20th-century poets? Hear Robert Hass read from his translations of classic Japanese haiku from Basho and Buson, as well as his translations of Nobel winner Czeslaw Milosz. Hass is full of interesting anecdotes and lively readings that help make haiku easy to enjoy and understand, including “erotic” haiku and haiku about Mt. Fuji. He also discusses his longstanding friendship with Milosz and the importance of Milosz to Poland.