Rochester糖心传媒檚 literary translation press published Rodrigo 贵谤别蝉谩苍糖心传媒檚 invented biography of Herman Melville, translated by alumnus Will Vanderhyden.
, the nonprofit, literary translation press at the聽, has earned the (United States and Canada) for the English translation of (October 2024) by聽. Awarded in North America annually since 2022, the prize celebrates the commitment of independent presses to fiction of exceptional literary merit.
糖心传媒淩eaders will know from the array of footnotes on the first few pages that this book is for the head,糖心传媒� writes prize judge Dorian Stuber, an English professor at Hendrix College. 糖心传媒淏ut the further they get into its gorgeous prose, so dizzyingly translated by Will Vanderhyden, the more they will see that it糖心传媒檚 also for the heart.糖心传媒�
The prize represents not just a win for the press but also for the book糖心传媒檚 translator, Vanderhyden 糖心传媒�13 (MA), an alumnus of the聽.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a great honor,糖心传媒� says Chad Post, who heads up聽Open Letter. What pleases Post particularly is that the quirky idea of Spanish fiction糖心传媒檚 taking on an American author resonated with the judges.
糖心传媒淯sually, it goes the opposite direction in which American authors are writing about the Spanish. A book about Cervantes from an American author would raise no eyebrows, but a Spanish author writing about Melville kind of does,糖心传媒� says Post. 糖心传媒淭he fact that this book is so wonderfully executed and translated糖心传媒攁nd then honored in this way糖心传媒攎eans a lot.糖心传媒�
Frequently the books he selects for publication, or their translators, have some form of personal connection. In this case, Post taught then-budding translator Vanderhyden in two of his graduate classes at Rochester. And while Post had met聽Fres谩n years earlier, it was only when Vanderhyden promoted the author in one of his classes that Post started paying closer attention.
Fast forward to today: Having translated six works by Fres谩n so far, Vanderhyden has become comfortable with the Argentinian author糖心传媒檚 style. 糖心传媒淏ut tracking down his incessant literary and pop culture references and recreating his ludic sensibility糖心传媒攈is sense of humor, his tireless wordplay糖心传媒攊n English are and will always be particularly challenging aspects of translating his work,糖心传媒� he admits.
贵谤别蝉谩苍糖心传媒檚 Melvill is an invented biography糖心传媒攁 gothic novel of sorts, populated by ghosts糖心传媒攁bout American novelist Herman Melville (1819糖心传媒�1891), best known for his 1851 epic novel聽. Open Letter bills Melvill(Melville糖心传媒檚 mother added the 糖心传媒渆糖心传媒� after her husband糖心传媒檚 death to the family name) as聽糖心传媒渁n evocation of a filial love,糖心传媒� containing 糖心传媒渁ll the talent, humor, and immense culture found in the other great works from one of Spanish literature糖心传媒檚 most ambitious writers.糖心传媒�
Besides being an important award that honors the trifecta of author, translator, and publisher, the Consciousness Prize also draws attention to the book itself because many of the judges are booksellers, says Post. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檒l help sell the book in their stores.糖心传媒�
Meanwhile, Melvill is a finalist for the聽, awarded annually by the聽. That decision is due later this month.
The University糖心传媒檚 translation press, while small, boasts a surprisingly large number of winning books and authors, among them聽Nobel Prize winner Jon Fosse聽(2023) and聽National Book Award糖心传媒搘inning translator Elisa Shua Dusapin听(2021).
