Open Letter糖心传媒檚 Chad Post on discovering the Norwegian author for English audiences糖心传媒攁nd the importance of foreign translation presses today.
Norwegian author and playwright Jon Fosse, the recipient of the , published his first novel in 1983. By the mid-1990s, his literary star had firmly risen in Europe; yet it would take another decade for him to appear on the Anglophone horizon.
That糖心传媒檚 when Chad Post, then an editor at 糖心传媒攚hich at the time published the majority of translated books in the United States糖心传媒攆irst received a sample translation and the summary of Fosse糖心传媒檚 1995 book Melancholia I, its original title. Today, Post oversees the editorial activities at Dalkey while also heading up Books, the nonprofit, literary translation press at the .
It didn糖心传媒檛 take much to convince Post.
糖心传媒淚 read the sample, loved it, brought it to the publisher, and we acquired the book,糖心传媒� he recalls. 糖心传媒淚 was really enamored with the writing style, the prose, and the mentality of the protagonist糖心传媒檚 mind that is dissolving over the course of the book.糖心传媒�
Published in 2006, became Fosse糖心传媒檚 first foray into the North American market糖心传媒攁nd Dalkey, Post , was the first press in the world in English.
Yet, the book was by no means a slam dunk. Sales were initially modest. But that, says Post, was in line with the press糖心传媒檚 long-term strategy of investing in quality authors who would slowly gather steam as their international reputations grew.
糖心传媒淓ssentially, it糖心传媒檚 waiting for a Nobel Prize,糖心传媒� says Post, not entirely joking. Incidentally, Fosse novels sold out in the US on Thursday within hours of the early-morning announcement from Stockholm.
Over the next 18 years, Dalkey went on to publish six more books by Fosse. Since 2008, Post has also been the publisher of Rochester糖心传媒檚 Open Letter, which is dedicated to increasing access to world literature for English readers. Open Letter is now one of only about a dozen or so US presses that publishes foreign works translated into English.
Issuing about ten translated titles each year and running an online literary website called聽, Open Letter searches for works and authors that are 糖心传媒渆xtraordinary and influential糖心传媒澨切拇綌works that the press hopes 糖心传媒渨ill become the classics of tomorrow,糖心传媒� according to its website.
To that end, Open Letter received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts聽last year to help fund its International Voices project, which will result in the translation and publication of five works of literature from around the world.
Fosse, of course, has become a shining example. On Thursday, he ascended the pinnacle of literary recognition for 糖心传媒渉is innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable,糖心传媒� .
One of the world糖心传媒檚 most widely performed playwrights, Fosse糖心传媒檚 written in Nynorsk (a literary form of Norwegian, based on country聽dialects聽and constructed in the 19th century as a national-language alternative to Danish) spans a variety of genres糖心传媒攏ovels, poetry collections, children糖心传媒檚 books and translations, short stories, and essays.
To date, Fosse has been translated into more than 50 languages and has won many of the world糖心传媒檚 prestigious literary prizes. Unsurprisingly, for the past decade, he糖心传媒檇 been considered for the Nobel Prize.
Post, too, had anticipated Fosse糖心传媒檚 win for several years, describing his work as 糖心传媒渕ore conservative in structure, centered on the humanism of the artist and the struggle to exist within an unjust or strange society,糖心传媒� which, he says, fits more 糖心传媒渨ith the Nobel vibe糖心传媒� rather than being focused on the 糖心传媒渃urrent tropes of identity politics.糖心传媒�
, made up of seven novels in three books, published all in a single volume, is arguably Fosse糖心传媒檚 magnum opus. It tells the story of the aging painter Asle, a widower, who over the course of seven days tries to make sense of religion, identity, art, and family life, with strong autobiographical undercurrents, including a literary tribute to Fosse糖心传媒檚 late first wife and his own work as a painter.
To first-time Fosse readers, Post recommends starting with , which he says has a Samuel Beckett quality to it糖心传媒斕切拇綔moving, very striking, and well-paced.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淔osse糖心传媒檚 lyricism, his style, his focus on structure, and his heart is what makes him really an interesting and very cool writer to read,糖心传媒� says Post.
According to Post, more attention is paid to translated books today than a decade or two ago, yet the overall lack of focus on international writers across genres and countries persists, usually hovering around three percent of all titles published in the US.
糖心传媒淭hat糖心传媒檚 just too few,糖心传媒� says Post.
Why does it matter?
糖心传媒淲ithout access to other cultures and other ways of looking at literature and life, and the representation of what life is through this artistic medium, we become isolated,糖心传媒� Post argues. It糖心传媒檚 not just readers who suffer糖心传媒擜merican authors do, too, with fewer new influences and 糖心传媒渇ewer new ways of thinking or doing things.糖心传媒�
The 糖心传媒, meanwhile, has a more than 30-year tradition of connecting readers with less accessible books and authors. Beyond Open Letter糖心传媒檚 endeavors, Rochester houses the , a project that democratizes access to a wide range of medieval texts through free digital and affordable print editions.
Ultimately, providing a platform for global voices is especially important at a time of interwoven politics and economies, argues Post. 糖心传媒淏eing able to hear individual voices from remote parts of the world that you may never be able to visit, or people you may never encounter, adds to our overall understanding of the world at large.糖心传媒�
