National Endowment for the Arts Announces 14 Literary Translation Grants

August 14, 2007

Washington, D.C.— Today, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awards 14 literary translation grants totalling $200,000. Translation Fellowships in poetry and prose are offered to published literary translators for specific translation projects from other languages into English. Grants in this category are for $10,000 or $20,000 depending on the scope and merit of each project. (The amount of the awards is pending Congressional approval of the NEA's FY 2008 budget.)

"American culture is most vibrant when it includes the best works of art from other nations," said NEA Chairman Dana Gioia. "Through our commitment to funding translation, the NEA has been an essential catalyst for bringing the world's literature to our country."

Since the inception of the literary translation program in 1981, the Arts Endowment has awarded 274 Translation Fellowships in 52 languages from 63 countries. The NEA Literature Translation Fellowship program is the largest annual funding source for literature translation in the United States.

The grants will support the translation of nine works of fiction and five works of poetry. Among the works, a grant to translate poetry by 14th century Persian princess Jahan Khatun, the only female Persian poet from the medieval era whose poetry is known today. The novel Senselessness, by Honduran author Horacio Castellanos Moya, bears witness to the persecution of Mayan Indians in Guatemala. German author Christoph Hein's award-winning novel Gaining Ground chronicles 50 years in the life of a man in modern Germany.

The recipients of the NEA Translation Fellowships are:

Aditya Behl (Philadelphia, PA): $20,000
Nicholas Benson (Washington Depot, CT): $10,000
Susan Bernofsky (Boiceville, NY): $20,000
Nilanjan Bhattacharya (Astoria, NY): $10,000
Philip Boehm (St. Louis, MO): $20,000
Pamela Carmell (Shrewsbury, MO): $20,000
Richard Davis (Columbus, OH): $10,000
Elizabeth Hunkins (Santa Fe, NM): $10,000
William Martin (Chicago, IL): $20,000
Sawako Nakayasu (San Francisco, CA): $10,000
Paul Olchvary (Amherst, NY): $10,000
Katherine Silver (Berkeley, CA): $20,000
Elizabeth Stewart (Staten Island, NY): $10,000
Marie Weigel (Pennington, NJ): $10,000

See complete descriptions of funded projects.

Some details of the projects listed in this grant announcement are subject to change, contingent upon prior Endowment approval.

About the National Endowment for the Arts

The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts -- both new and established -- bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit www.arts.gov.

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