Reading translated literature is one of the main ways in which individuals can understand and identify with people from different walks of life. However, literature translated into English is not as highly demanded as literature initially written in English. This is one reason why as few as 3% of annual U.S. literature is made up of translated works. According to Three Percent, a resource for international literature at the University of Rochester, most of the annual 3% of translated literature consists of technical writing or reprints of classical literature, while a mere 0.7% consists of first-time translated fiction and poetry.
“Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.” — Anthony Burgess
With such dismal representation of writers who don’t write in English, readers miss out on the opportunity to experience and understand the cultures and lives of others. To bridge this gap, it is crucial for readers to demand translated literature and support the authors who create it. Strand has curated a list of authors with translated literature that you can explore the next time you pop into our store. Don’t forget to ask a bookseller where our Fiction in Translation table is on the Main Floor!
Notable Works in Translation:
1. Poso Wells by Gabriela Alemán, Translated by Dick Cluster
“Poso Wells does not appear on any map. How could it? The last time anyone did a topographical survey, that huge mass of mud dredged from the estuary was still part of the river. And water flows. It’s not subdivided into lots. But there lies Poso Wells, objections be damned.” — Excerpt courtesy of City Lights, © 2018
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