Sir, - The universality of story is indeed embedded in all cultures. This is implied by Paul Hazarr, the French philosopher who stresses "innumerable are the exchanges" in this kingdom. Children's books seek new frontiers in order to partake in such a "universal republic of childhood".
I believe this implies that every country should give and take in this exchange. The reality is that Eire seems to nurture this exchange as a Utopian fantasy where the proportion of books translated into English is smaller than in Britain which, like the US, is a mere three per cent. In Italy and The Netherlands, every second book is translated. In Scandinavia 70 per cent of the literature published is in other languages.
We sell abroad, but have a reluctance to buy in the field of diversity of European and non-European literature. We need to broaden our horizon of cultural and aesthetic diversity in order to enrich the heart of our literature.
Irish publishers have unearthed so many good writers since the late 1970s, and continue to publish in this saturated market where we are endeavouring to catch up on 100 years of children's literature. Our output is concentrated on our own reservoir of Irish writers, rather than an international audience. The orientation is towards Britain, and we do not get to know foreign literature.
Surely we don't need the filter of the English market to gain access to the broader literary milieu. We indeed have a vivid microcosm of Irish children's literature, but we need to encompass the jewels of other foreign literature on a more expansive scale. It is only by doing so that we can embrace both the European and non European macrocosm of universality. As a result, childhood's enchantment will be better nurtured. - Yours, etc.
CBI, Children's Book Ireland, Patrick Street, Dublin 8.