O (braku) szacunku dla pracy tłumacza


O tym, jak postrzegani są dziś tłumacze literatury, mogliście przeczytać w wywiadzie z Michałem Kłobukowskim (tutaj). O szacunek dla tej profesji walczy Cristina Vezzaro:

(…) the primary goal for Vezzaro is to promote what literary translators do. She acknowledges that in certain countries translators are valued more than in others—in Scandinavian countries or in France translators’ names feature prominently in books and they are given royalties, whereas in Italy it is not the case. But the resonance she has had with her blog means that regardless of the different conditions, “We all need more visibility.”

The idea is simple enough: Authors & Translators publishes interviews with authors and translators — the authors talk about their collaboration with their translators and the translators talk about what they do. People can contribute to the blog, and Vezzaro provides a sample questionnaire for either an author or a translator.

Many of the interviews are in English, such as one with author Siri Hustvedt or the translator Bernard Cohen, but others are in Serbian, German, or Macedonian. Vezzaro will translate a quote into English at the beginning of the interview, and then, tongue in cheek, writes in a sentence, “P.S. You can’t read Serbian or German? Next time you read a Serbian or German author, remember the experience is made possible by a translator.”

“This is also the point, for example if someone loves what Siri Hustvedt writes, and they can’t read in English, well suddenly they realize if it weren’t for translators they wouldn’t be able to read her,” said Vezzaro.