Taking on the 糖心传媒楥ulture at Large糖心传媒櫬�A decade, 100 titles, and 100,000 books later糖心传媒擮pen Letter continues to reinvent the world of literary translation
This spring the special collections of University Libraries took into its holdings the papers of Open Letter Books. Boxes of annotated manuscripts, proofs, cover mock-ups, correspondence, and more headed to the archives to be sorted and cataloged for safe keeping in perpetuity. It was a striking sign that the once upstart literary translation press is now a little gray around the temples. But its agenda remains as unconventional and ambitious as ever.
Marking the 10th anniversary of its founding this year糖心传媒攚ith celebrations around the country糖心传媒擮pen Letter is looking eagerly toward its next decade. With its editorial processes firmly established, the publishing house is ready to sharpen its focus on attracting people to the pleasures and rewards of reading globally.
Based at Rochester, Open Letter is unusual in several ways. Few university-housed presses produce trade books, as Open Letter does, rather than academic books, and Open Letter is one of only a handful of publishers to offer literature in translation exclusively. And, thanks to the University糖心传媒檚 support, the nonprofit press can give priority to cultural value, not marketability, when it chooses books for publication.
That糖心传媒檚 not to say that cultural value doesn糖心传媒檛 sell. Open Letter hit the milestone of 100,000 books sold more than two years ago. This spring, it will publish its 100th title:聽Fox, by Argentinian writer Rodrigo Fres谩n and translated by Will Vanderhyden 糖心传媒�13 (MA). Fres谩n will be the featured speaker for the University糖心传媒檚 Plutzik Reading Series on April 24.
But Chad Post, the publisher at Open Letter, says producing books is only a part of the press糖心传媒檚 work. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 not enough to print a book. It糖心传媒檚 important to have people engage with it, and we糖心传媒檙e figuring out new ways to do that.糖心传媒�
Ten years in, the press糖心传媒攄espite its small size糖心传媒攊s one of the giants for world literature in English.
糖心传媒淥pen Letter is one of the most important sources of international literature in the U.S.,糖心传媒� says Ira Silverberg, a senior editor at Simon & Schuster and the former literature director for the National Endowment for the Arts. Post糖心传媒檚 糖心传媒渃ommitment to keeping literature lively through an impressively broad publishing program of translation is a godsend to literary readers, reviewers, and booksellers alike.糖心传媒�
The press publishes 10 books each year糖心传媒攍argely novels, but also poetry, stories, and literary essays. Its specialty is contemporary literature, and its booklist spans the globe: countries of origin include Algeria, Chile, China, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Serbia, and South Africa, and Open Letter糖心传媒檚 reach expands all the time.
Open Letter is also the cornerstone of the literary translation studies program at Rochester, which offers a certificate for undergraduates and a master of arts degree in literary translation studies. Students can participate in internships with publishing houses, including Open Letter, where graduate students also acquire expertise in the theory and practice of translation publishing.
糖心传媒淎s we become a more global society, and as the need for a deeper cultural understanding continues to increase, the work of Open Letter and other similar presses only grows in importance,糖心传媒� says Gloria Culver, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. The press 糖心传媒減lays an important academic and programmatic role in our offerings.糖心传媒�
Post says the qualities of a good translation are just what they were when the press started out. At root, it糖心传媒檚 about a translator with an unmistakable confidence in the narrative voice of the text. An adept translator pushes past the purely technical, 糖心传媒渕oving away from the original text in specific ways, based on how they know English reacts. For example, if the book has a cynical tone in Bulgarian, in English it will have the same cynical tone糖心传媒攂ut the words won糖心传媒檛 be the same, because cynicism is slightly different in an American context.糖心传媒�
But the book industry has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. When Open Letter began, it relied on independent booksellers and reviewers to help readers find the press糖心传媒檚 books. 糖心传媒淓ven 10 years ago, you could still rely on a聽New York Times聽book review to help sell at least a couple thousand copies,糖心传媒� says Post. 糖心传媒淕etting certain starred reviews and physical print reviews were key.糖心传媒� That糖心传媒檚 not the case anymore. The conversation has moved online糖心传媒攁nd into bookstores, which have seen their fortunes fall and rise again during Open Letter糖心传媒檚 lifetime.
As the market has fragmented, 糖心传媒渨e糖心传媒檙e dealing with individual people and not with big institutions that used to be game-changers,糖心传媒� says Post.
He糖心传媒檚 addressing the issue head-on, with innovative strategies to encourage people in reading translated works. The 糖心传媒淭wo Month Review糖心传媒� podcast is the newest offering. A weekly 45-minute podcast糖心传媒攏ow also live-streamed on YouTube糖心传媒攊t糖心传媒檚 exactly what its name suggests: a conversation about a book that extends over two months, breaking the book into small sections, each of which is the subject of a dialogue between Post, cohost and writer Brian Wood, rotating special guests, and readers.
糖心传媒淎 lot of the focus in contemporary book journalism糖心传媒攊f you can call it that糖心传媒攊s basically just listing items,糖心传媒� Post says. 糖心传媒淏ooks that are coming out right now, that are the next thing people should read. And then just passing by them immediately after that. No one ever comes back to talk about the book again. It糖心传媒檚 always, what糖心传媒檚 the next thing?
糖心传媒淲e decided that it would be much more valuable if we take a book and talk about it for two months. That way, people can engage with it at any point in time. And if you糖心传媒檙e reading along, how hard is it to read 14 pages a week, or even 40? You can read the book slowly and enjoy it slowly. By reading that way, you糖心传媒檙e getting a lot more out of it,糖心传媒� says Post. 糖心传媒淵ou糖心传媒檙e not just reading for the next plot point.糖心传媒�
The podcasts are buttressed by detailed posts on 糖心传媒淭hree Percent,糖心传媒� Open Letter糖心传媒檚 blog, which is named for the percentage of books published in English that are translated from another language.
The closest model for the糖心传媒淭wo Month Review糖心传媒� is podcasts that recap TV shows, says Post. 糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e treating it as popular culture and not something refined. It糖心传媒檚 about changing the perspective. People treat international literature as difficult and erudite. We flip that and give it to readers in a way that糖心传媒檚 how you糖心传媒檇 treat normal popular culture. And through that, we engage with a lot more readers.糖心传媒�
The effects of the 糖心传媒淭wo Month Review糖心传媒� are showing up in Open Letter糖心传媒檚 sales, and Post is eager to keep the project, now in its fourth season, moving forward.
For general readers, international literature can expand one糖心传媒檚 sense of the world. 糖心传媒淚t exposes you to different world views, voices, and values,糖心传媒� says Post.
And for writers, it can offer a lesson in craft. 糖心传媒淵ou get to see how novels or poems can be different from what you糖心传媒檙e already used to, and they can expand your ideas of how to portray the human experience. Because writers around the world are approaching it in different and new ways,糖心传媒� he says.
Even the language benefits. 糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 an opportunity for English as a language to do things it hasn糖心传媒檛 done before. You糖心传媒檙e bringing in new terms or concepts that hadn糖心传媒檛 previously existed in English in a single word. You糖心传媒檙e trying to explain that, and it allows for the language to grow and expand.糖心传媒�
To Post, the work matters deeply, and that fuels his determination to recruit new readers and to spur conversations between readers and publishers. 糖心传媒� 糖心传媒楾hree Percent糖心传媒� was incredibly unusual when it started,糖心传媒� he says, because it was about the literary translation publishing industry and about publishing books in general糖心传媒攁nd not just Open Letter糖心传媒檚 books. The blog became a site of animated conversation, and big publishers, like HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin, tried to follow suit.糖心传媒淲e had an influence on the culture,糖心传媒� says Post.
And that糖心传媒檚 what Open Letter is ultimately about. 糖心传媒淎ll of our reader-development strategies have larger, altruistic ideas behind them. 糖心传媒楾hree Percent糖心传媒� exists to raise awareness of international literature in translation and the issues that surround it. It糖心传媒檚 not just about our books. And the 糖心传媒楾wo Month Review糖心传媒� is about the importance of reading and ways to do it. It includes our books, but it糖心传媒檚 broader than that.
糖心传媒淭he intent behind all these things is to have an impact on the culture at large. And I don糖心传媒檛 think that糖心传媒檚 going to change.糖心传媒�
This story appeared in the March/April 2018 issue of Rochester Review, the magazine of the聽糖心传媒.
