German Literature in English Translation: A Select Bibliography by Patrick O'Neill (review)

HUMANITIES 487 nombreux articles cansacresaux flore etfaune quebecoises renfermentdes noms qualifies de 'populaires' ou 'scientifiques' aussi bien que des noms non marques (voir escargot, poisson pecheur, puce de mer, touladl). Sont introduitsegalement bon nombre de mots dont l'emploiseraitlimiteiI une region du Quebec - Lac Saint-Jean, Montreal, lles-de-Ia-Madeleine, etc (voir guedille, mene, nord, pate Ii viande, poutine, sander, sud, tourtiere, treui/). Pourquoi ce dictionnaire anarchique, cet anti-dictionnaire? Le ton provocateur et polemique du premier volume est developpe dans Ie deuxieme dans un long chapitre, precedant Ie supplement proprement dit, intitule 'La Charte de la langue quebecoise' (SUpp81, pp 11-53), ou il est question, par exemple, de 'langue vivante' (Ie quebecois) et de 'langue morte' (Ie fran~ais) et, bien entendu, de 'policiers de la langue.' II s'agit tout simplement de donner acroire aux Quebecois qu'ils possedent une langue qui fonctionne tres bien, ce qui se defend, et qui est superieure au fran~ais de France, ce qui est l'opinion de Bergeron. (A remarquer que I'auteur de 'La Charte' prend soin de parler de la 'nationalite des Quebecois,' du 'pays de Quebec,' du 'peuple quebecois' ou de TElat du Quebec,' alars que les redacteurs de certains des articles du supplementIe trahissent en parlant de la 'province' de Quebec - voir mene et sud). Et ce n'est pas fini: pour nous garder Ie moral bon, l'auteur promet un 'supplement 1982.' (TERENCE RUSSON WOOLDRIDGE) Patrick O'NeilL German Literature in English Translation: A Select Bibliography University of Toronto Press. 242. $25.00 As stated in the preface, the aim of this bibliography is to provide an up-to-date listing of English translations of literary works by important German writers which have appeared in book form and which are readily available. It is emphasi2ed that the selection is a personal one, reflecting the compiler's own judgment as to what constitutes the main corpus of German literature in translation atthe beginningof the 1980s. Works have been included primarily on the basis of literary excellence, and, on a secondary level, for their cultural Significance. The author claims two main advantages for his listing. First, as it contains entries up to 1979, it is the most current bibliography of this type, and thus alleviates the reader's task of having to search through such national bibliographies as the British National Bibliography or the Library of Congress subject listings for more recent additions. Secondly, because it includes only modern twentieth-century translations generally regarded as being superior to previous ones, or else reprints of older translations still considered to be of merit, the non-specialist reader will no longer find 488 LETTERS IN CANADA 1981 it necessary to work through Bayard Quincy Morgan's exhaustive Bibliography of German Literature in English Translation, first published in 1922 and subsequently augmented up to 1969. O'Neill's book is divided into five chapters. The first, 'General Collections ,' lists anthologies which contain either wholly or in part German dramas, novels, short stories, and poetry from all periods. Ensuing chapters are then devoted to pre-1700, eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century texts respectively. By far the longest listing is that of the twentieth century, a fact which is a direct reflection of modern trends in literary translation. For the most part the book is well laid out. It is comprehensive enough for the readers for whom it was intended, namely the educated general reader, those engaged in the teaching of German literature in translation, and students of comparative literalure not specializing in German. There are, however, several minor flaws. For instance, in the section entitled 'General Collections' there is no uniformity in the listings of the authors and titles which appear in the various anthologies. For some entries only authors' names are mentioned, whereas in others both authors and titles are given. Furthermore, many of the authors named in this section are not to be found in the index at the end of the book. This defect is compounded by the fact that in the ensuing chapters, under the listings devoted to individual authors, often no reference is made to the effect that some of their works appear in the...