Translations/Traductions

The state of literary translation in 2010 offers a worrisome image of Canadian publishing. Signs of a harsher climate are numerous: economy formats, fewer books of literary depth, greater emphasis on commercial factors in the choice of books to be translated, international co-editions with reduced local input. There is an ominous air of downsizing and precariousness. Some important small to midsize anglophone presses with a long-standing commitment to literary translation chose not to publish any translations at all in 2010. Financial pressures lurk behind some important changes among francophone presses that do not bode well for translation. XYZ, a press with an important translation catalogue, has been sold to Hurtubise, a more commercial press. Fides, known for its long tradition of commitment to Québec literary classics, has been taken over by the Éditions Saint-Martin (a branch of COOPSCO), with a focus on social science and educational publishing. Publishers seem to be taking a more narrow view of promotion, and several, including major presses such as Boréal and McClelland & Stewart, have not provided review copies of all their translations for this column. As a result, the books received section contains titles procured through public or university libraries.

Always eclectic, translation choices this year, with some notable exceptions, reveal a profound sense of cultural dispersion, as though literature is losing ground as a source of independent and multifaceted knowledge about the world, and its vital contribution to society is being determinedly undermined by an increasingly aggressive process of commoditization. Poor news for cultural exchange between anglophone and francophone Canadians, the search for profit is leading to a return to colonial practices. More English Canadian publishers are choosing books from France for their small selection of translations. McArthur & Company, known for its translations of children’s literature, has published three translation titles this year, all in the money-maker category. However, only one is by a Québec writer, Rafaël Germain’s bestseller, Pink Bra and Black Jacket, a kind of reality literature for young professionals. The other two are by the well-known, and well-selling, French writers Véronique Olmi and Mark Lévy. Arsenal Pulp Press has published a translation of French diplomat and writer Hadrien Laroche’s study of the last eighteen years in the life of French dramatist and activist Jean Genet. The quotations from Le Monde and Le Point on the cover page describe the book as focusing on a ‘critical moment in French cultural history and American society, but also, on a broader scale, questions of borders, language and identity, offering an alternative to Sartre’s concept of engagement.’ Catering to French and American hegemonies, Genet’s own, albeit ambiguous, political critique of imperialism seems to be recuperated here in a double effacement of local Canadian cultural borders. In a similar erasure of two translators, the book lists David Homel as the translator on the cover but inside reveals a teamwork approach by ‘Enrico Caouette, Jacob Homel and David Homel, under the direction of David Homel.’ In another colonial twist, reminiscent of the time when Canadian anglophone presses were mere distribution agents for their American or British counterparts, Vintage Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited, has put out Nicolas Dickner’s Apocalypse for Beginners in a translation by Lazer Lederhendler, printed in the United States.

In an uncertain commercial climate, book publishers seem reluctant to translate classic works, which is unfortunate since many classic novels in French and English in Canada have not yet been translated or are no longer available in translation. Despite increased funding from the Canada Council for translation, only one classic was translated this year: Gérard Bessette’s famous novel, Le Libraire, first rendered into English by Glen Shortliffe in 1962 under the title, Not for Every Eye, and re-edited this year by Exile Press in a version revised by Steven Urquhart. However, one might also include in this category Montreal writer Gail Scott’s innovative autobiographically inspired novel, My Paris, first published in English in 2003 and finally out this year in French, unfortunately in a poor translation...