Shelf Unbound October/November 2013 October 2013 | Page 6

a word from the

publisher

“T

TRANSLATION

ranslators are the shadow heroes of literature, the
often forgotten instruments that make it possible
for different cultures to talk to one another, who
have enabled us to understand that we all, from
every part of the world, live in one world,” wrote
Paul Auster. This quote is an apt one to open this
issue, which celebrates both books in translation
and the shadow heroes who translate them.
In our interview with David Scott Hamilton,
whose translation of Exit by Nelly Arcan was nominated for the Governor General’s Award and whose
translation of Perrine Leblanc’s Kolia has just been
published by House of Anansi, he echoes Auster’s
thoughts on translation: “What really draws me to
this particular métier is that it rests upon the act of writing, which, if it is done
well, has the power to transport literature across the river that divides two
languages and two cultures, and recreate the aesthetic experience of the
original text for the reader of its translation.”
Irish-born Emma Donoghue, whose novel Room was short-listed for the
2010 Man Booker Prize, gives translators this reverent nod: “When I think of
this profession I think of priestly, tireless dedication to getting it right.” And
in fact I am writing this note on September 30, which as it turns out is International Translation Day, celebrated on the feast day of St. Jerome, known
as the patron saint of translators for his translation of the Hebrew bible into
Latin. So happy translation day, and enjoy this literary trip around the globe.
Margaret Brown
publisher

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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013

Photograph: Belinda Baldwin