Literary Translation Prize Tomás Segovia

[Daniel del Real]

Eric has always said that more countries should put money on the table and create literature related prizes to so start with traditions that can compete with the old ones. Well, here's a good example. $100,000 dollars for translation is a huge amount. With this and the brand new Carlos Fuentes prize, also giving a good quantity to the winner, puts Mexico in a very good sport to impulse literature.

Here's a link on Orthofer's take on this topic at the Literary Saloon:

http://www.complete-review.com/saloon/#dh8

 

[Stiffelio]

It's a good incentive for Eric to once and for all start learning Spanish .

 

[Eric]

I've got the message, and $100,000 would be a nice sum to have. But doesn't this degrade translation, turning it into a fight for money? How on Earth can you compare translations and their different genres and styles, anyway? Will everyone try to re-translate Cervantes, or will this mean that serious translations of contemporary Latin American literature will be in the running? Or is this a way of laundering drugs money? Mexico does have a problem in that area. Who are the judges? What are their criteria? There are a lot of questions raised once a huge sum of money comes into play.

So I am quite content to continue with my lower intermediate reading knowledge of Spanish, and let others win the $100,000.

 

[Liam]

Just think what you could do with the money Eric: you could come and visit me in NY, .

 

[Flint]

Very good news. Mexico is the country with the world's largest number of speakers of Spanish as a first language, and with an impressive tradition both in literature and in 'literary life' (following a memorable distinction made by Juan Marse). Good they do something big for translation from/into Spanish.

We all know literary prizes are to some extent arbitrary -you cannot measure literary achievement like sports performance at the Olympic Games- but they encourage literary activity and help to 'stir' the literary world, which is good.

 

[Eric]

As Liam suggests, I could pop over to NY and visit him if someone gave me $100,000. But I have to say that I'm uncomfortable with a country that is notorious for having a huge problem with drugs and violence suddenly coming up with what for me seems a quite disproportionate sum of money for translation. It's like Belarus coming with an expensive prize for democracy (The Lukashenko Freedom Award).

I have to say that I am simply suspicious of this project. If it were a joint Latin-American Prize paid for by several countries, so that no one of them had the upper hand, that would be different. Although even then, a lot of dodgy oil money could be swilling around from, for instance, Venezuelan fuel sales to Iran. Everyone is up in arms about blood diamonds in Africa, but who is to say that this award isn't something similar, Mexican style?

If it turns out to be an honest project there is still the problem I mentioned last time about distorting the whole of literary translation to become an enormous horserace to win a large sum of money. It's the same venality which has turned half the translators from Scandinavian languages into Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell slaves.

 

[Flint]

Please let's see beyond stereotypes. Mexico has a great cultural tradition: literature, music, cinema... As for prizes, there are lots of translation prizes awarded by different bodies in many different countries - what's new about it?

 

[Eric]

Only one person can win a prize. It's nice for the recipient. But most people on the WLF never think about the working conditions of literary translators. That huge prize does not help improve the financial and societal status of literary translators (from Spanish in this case) one iota. It is the usual mesmerism with huge sums of money.

As a serious literary translator myself, I want to be paid at a proper fixed rate that takes into account the work put into the translation work, not take part in a race. We British literary translators are disorganised and because of the complexity of EU cartel regulations, we are not even allowed to have an official fixed rate for the translation fee. It is similar in many countries. Literary translators are often exploited on a freelance basis, and are in a weak position.

A huge prize like this will cause no end of positioning, elbowing, bitching and other unpleasant qualities among all those translators from Spanish internationally that want to win. Better to pay translators properly instead. But I fear that students at universities who simply read the fruits of translators' labours are utterly naïve when it comes to the financial realities of the activity that makes it possible for them to read novels and poetry in translation.

 

[Daniel del Real]

As Liam suggests, I could pop over to NY and visit him if someone gave me $100,000. But I have to say that I'm uncomfortable with a country that is notorious for having a huge problem with drugs and violence suddenly coming up with what for me seems a quite disproportionate sum of money for translation. It's like Belarus coming with an expensive prize for democracy (The Lukashenko Freedom Award).

The money is granted by CONACULTA which is an estate dependency and FIL Guadalajara, who is the second largest book fair in the world. One hundred K is not a lot of money for them and does not necessarily has to come from drug dealers like that narrow-minded brittish prick translator suggests.

Beside, the prize is for the trajectory of a translator, for the sum of his translations and not for a quick and stupid re-translation of El Quijote.

 

[Liam]

Mexico has a great cultural tradition...

Yes indeed, as well as one of the oldest, both in terms of Native American literature and the Euro-American tradition. Juana Inés de la Cruz was already writing down her visions when the English were only beginning to penetrate the Eastern seaboard. Her poetry is also amazing; I highly recommend her writings to others (and not just to the religious-minded, ).