Writers in Translation
Each year, Writers in Translation support between 6 and 8 books that are translated from a wide variety of foreign languages. Our aim is to celebrate books of outstanding literary value, dedication to free speech and intercultural understanding.
In November 2009, the Writers in Translation Committee chose to support 4 books which will be published in the first half of 2010:
Samuel Shimon (editor), Beirut 39: New Writing from the Arab World
Translated from Arabic by various authors (Bloomsbury)
A collection of the best new writing from the Arab world by 39 writers under 40, aiming, in conjunction with the Hay and Free the Word Festivals, to bring a new generation of writers to public attention
Atiq Rahimi, The Patience Stone
Translated from French by Polly McClean (Chatto & Windus)
A young woman sits at her husband's bedside, twisting her worry beads, reciting prayers. Shot in the neck by a fellow soldier, he is in a coma. Alone and desperate for any sign of life from him, as her mind appears to unravel she also becomes intensely clear-sighted. Empowered by her husband's silence she steps out of the shadows of repression and begins an astonishing confessional.
Eli Amir, The Dove Flyer
Translated from Hebrew by Hillel Halkin (Halbin Publishers)
A lyrical farewell to the city - and Jewish culture - that Eli Amir grew up in and loved, and which is now gone forever. A marvellous story, noble, dreamy and beautifully told, that brings alive the feel, the taste, the fears and the pleasures of the Jewish community of Baghdad.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Dreams in a Time of War
Translated from Gĩkũyũ by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (Harvill Secker)
Through telling the story of his grandparents and parents and of his brothers' involvement on different sides of the violent Mau Mau uprising, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o documents a momentous period in Kenyan history, etching a bygone era, capturing the landscape, the people and their culture, and the social and political vicissitudes of life under colonialism and war.