Straelener Atrium Talks supported by the Kunststiftung NRW

In December 2007, in cooperation with the Kunststiftung NRW, the Europäisches Übersetzer-Kollegium (EÜK) initiated a series of twice-yearly international-facing events in which outstanding German-language authors, whose publishers have already sold foreign licences, spend several days working on their latest book alongside their foreign translators.

Many books present literary translators with the kind of specific linguistic and content-related problems that can really only be adequately translated by means of direct contact with the author.

How else can a translator immediately clarify the meanings of ‘Zaunreiterin’ as both witch and renowned journal as mentioned in Juli Zeh's text, say, or the custom of ‘egg rolling’ in Julia Franck, or what Eugen Ruge means with ‘slow combustion stove’? What does the old-fashioned swearword ‘bowsy lout’ mean in Saša Stanišić's novel? And what is the significance of a passage in Feridun Zaimoglu's text that reads ‘Blessed be the day on which the devil broke his hind leg’?

The Kunststiftung NRW wishes to honour and support the artistic work of literary translators through this specialist project, and at the same time help avoid mistakes and misunderstandings during the process of transferring both language and culture. It also aims to promote the reception of German-language literature abroad and generally improve the quality of translated literature.