What We Saw in 2013 and What We’ll See in 2014
As I wrote in June, I’ve started a database of Czech lit in translation — not going all the way back, mind you, but just to keep track of what’s come out since the end of communism (I may also include a few books from ’89 and before, just for the sake of reference). It’s mainly for myself, but I figured there must be at least a few other people out there who are interested.
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| Random stack of Czech books from librarything.com |
Here’s what I’ve got so far: http://bit.ly/1dQfwDF. Please do write and let me know if you’re aware of any books I’ve missed.
And as far as I can tell, here’s what we’ve got to look forward to in English translation from Czech over the next 12 months (pub dates based on bookstore websites, rather than publishers’ sites, which aren’t always updated as often):
- February: Aaron’s Leap, by Magdaléna Platzová, trans. Craig Cravens (Bellevue Literary Press), and Marketa Lazarová, by Vladislav Vančura, trans. Carleton Bulkin (Twisted Spoon Press). [N.B. The latter has been pushed back several times from its original date of spring/March 2013, so whether or not the Feb. date will hold is anybody’s guess.]
- March: Rambling On: An Apprentice’s Guide to the Gift of the Gab, by Bohumil Hrabal, trans. David Short, and Of Mice and Mooshaber, by Ladislav Fuks, trans. Mark Corner (both Karolinum Press).
- May: Harlequin’s Millions, by Bohumil Hrabal, trans. Stacey Knecht (Archipelago Books), and Nightwork, by Jáchym Topol, trans. Marek Tomin (Portobello Books).
For those of you into statistics, note the expected yield for 2014 (six books) is 50 percent higher than it was this year (four books).
