There is a 'Dancer' in France, 'Eureka Street' in Albania and Norway is full of 'Speckled People', and it's mostly thanks to Ireland Literature Exchange, writes Shane Hegarty.
It may have made an impact upon the English-speaking world, but there are many corners of the world which Irish literature has hardly grazed. However the last decade has seen enormous progress. Polish readers can now pick up copies of Pádraic Ó Conaire's Deoraíocht, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series and John Banville's The Book of Evidence. Emma Donoghue's Hood is available in Hebrew and Robert MacLiam Wilson's Eureka Street in Albanian. Hugo Hamilton's memoir of growing up in a German-Irish family, The Speckled People, is being translated into Dutch, Norwegian and Italian, although, oddly, not yet into German.
Much of the credit can be given to Ireland Literature Exchange (ILE), which, since its foundation in 1994, has so far helped to fund the translation of over 500 titles into 39 languages in 27 countries. "The idea was to open up the door to Irish literature for those who didn't read either English or Irish, to build bridges and to showcase Irish literature," explains its director, Sinéad MacAodha. Its grants tend to be focused on the translation of works from the English and Irish languages, as well as the promotion of Irish literature, and its authors, abroad. It also funds translations of foreign works into English or Irish, although this area has not been so fertile.
Among its recent projects is William Trevor's The Story of Lucy Gault, that has already been translated into 19 languages. John McGahern is extremely popular in France, where Colum McCann's Dancer is also selling very well.
The criteria are simple; the book must be clearly identifiable as a work of Irish literature, although the subject itself, as demonstrated by Dancer, need not be concerned with Ireland, which poses the question of which novels showcase Irish culture as well as its writers. Among the titles translated are novels which have been enormous commercial successes in their own markets, and it poses the question of how much a book, which already has massive financial backing, should benefit from ILE funds. However, MacAodha says that each title is judged on its own merits and that if it means that a work makes it to a country where there is little Irish activity, then it can be very helpful. "In the case of Eoin Colfer, the question of genre arises.
"It's helpful to promote children's literature, but we also hope it has a domino effect, that those books will take other children's writers in their slipstream." When it comes to translating from Irish, it can be a little contentious, as it sometimes means adapting the work from its English version. "It's a sensitive issue," admits MacAodha. "In fact, there are circumstances in which we suspect they are translating from English. Sometimes, though, there is no way around that. We are hoping to encourage more direct translations and there is a small handful of very good translators going directly from the Irish." There will be a Czech translation of Ó Conaire soon, which, she points out, is being translated by a Czech who speaks Irish and plays a mean fiddle too.
Translators, of course, run into cultural difficulties. There are often particular "hiberno-ims", says MacAodha, that can stump translators. By way of smoothing the path, the ILE commissions readers' reports, from people familiar in both languages and cultures, who assess the accuracy of the translations and suggest revisions should they be needed. It is a unique approach and one the ILE believes to be essential, not just to the straightforward translation of language, but to cultural translation too.
This year, at the Frankfurt Book Fair, MacAodha was in such demand that impromptu meetings with foreign publishers took place on the journey down the corridor from one meeting to the next. It was not limited purely to Europe, with the interest of Argentine and Korean publishers hinting at the ILE's next targets. The South American and the Asian markets have really only started to open up. A bursary has also been created and is currently accepting applications from translators from any of the 10 countries who will join the EU during Ireland's presidency next year.
ILE does not seek out titles, but is approached by publishers. It will cover only translation costs, not the subsequent printing or marketing. Even then, the percentage of costs covered varies from book to book. Some will cost more than others because of local factors, such as cost of living. Plays tend to receive a little more because they tend to come from minority publishers. ILE, though, will subsidise up to 100 per cent, although, on average, it covers about 25 per cent.
"There are question marks over how we can meet the demand at the current level of funding," admits MacAodha. At present, ILE runs on an annual budget of €275,000, which comes from the Arts Council, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge and the government's Cultural Relations Committee. "It is not a huge amount," she says. "We could always do with more funding. We could, for example, easily promote writers more extensively. Sister organisations in other countries will often take up to 12 writers to book fairs in a given year and they will carry with them sample translations. We could have an events manager to help plan ahead." There is some concern over the downturn in the worldwide publishing industry and whether that might affect Irish authors' chances of being printed abroad. There is also frustration that the traffic is a little one way.
While many Irish books are translated into other languages, for reasons of economy as well as the steady stream of foreign titles available from the UK, Irish publishers are not so quick to reciprocate. Nevertheless, MacAodha believes that ILE has been a success. "Without a doubt. It is highly regarded not just by international publishers, but by Irish authors. Many of them have benefited enormously."
To contact Ireland Literature Exchange, see www.irelandliterature.com, tel: 01-8727900 or e-mail: info@irelandliterature.com
