Celebrating this year’s Chinese New Year of the Pig, I discuss translating China with Nicky Harman on the launch of Paper Republic’s roundup of the most recent publications in English translation. Their 2018 roll call features thirty-three novels, six poetry collections and three YA and children’s books.
Paper Republic is a unique resource you won’t find anywhere else on the web. Its co-founder, Nicky Harman, is a leading light of the translation community in the UK and a passionate promoter of Chinese literature and culture. She is co-Chair of the Translators Association (Society of Authors). Nicky is often away, but I managed to catch up with her for brunch on Valentine’s day to discuss the literature of a non-English speaking continent that is 4,834 miles away from this small offshore island.
The ninth talk of the BookBlast® 10×10 tour, a nationwide celebration of independent publishing, @waterstonesl1 College Lane, Liverpool, L1 3DL features Balestier Press, founded in 2014: “Much diversity from Asian translated literature remains to be explored.” Roh-Suan Tung publishes award-winning literature in translation, young-adult fiction, and picture books.
On Thurs. 1 November at 6.30 p.m., Roh-Suan Tung @BalestierPress will chair the discussion with author @YanGeMay and her translator @NickyHarman_cn @waterstonesl1 The talk has as its theme, #MeToo Moments: men misbehaving in China. Book Tickets
“Writing is a reflection of real human life and what we care about,” Roh-Suan Tung.
“Chilli bean paste was big business, had been for Gran’s family for four or five generations. Sichuan peppers, on the other hand, were the sort of thing any small trader could sell. All they needed was a place to set up their stall. But, humble though the trade was, the Sichuan pepper was as essential as chilli bean paste at all Pingle Town dinner tables [. . .] Dad had kicked around the chilli bean paste factory for over twenty years, learning the ins and outs of his trade under the tutelage of his shifu, Chen, and if it had taught him one thing, it was that people were born to sweat. You ate chilli bean paste, and Sichuan peppers, and ma-la spicy hotpot, to work up a good sweat, and screwing a girl made you sweat even more. The more you sweated, the happier you felt, Dad reckoned. He remembered the fiery heat that the sweat-soaked bed-sheets in Baby Girl’s house gave off.”
Read a review of Yan Ge’s novel, The Chilli Bean Paste ClanHERE
Author interview HERE Meet Yan Ge in person on Thurs 1 Nov.
Q: What are you working on now? A: “A novel I’ve been working on for four years. It is set in a fictional town, Pingle, in the southwest of China. It’s the third book of my trilogy of Pingle Town. The Chilli Bean Paste Clan is the second one. The first one is a coming of age novel called May Queen,”
Translator interview HERE Meet Nicky in person on Thurs 1 Nov.
Q: Why do you translate? A: “I love the language, and writing. When things go well, I feel I’m opening a window on another world for readers and that’s a great privilege,” Nicky Harman.
Just back from a break in Patmos, a paradise in the Aegean Sea, hence our May top 10 indie reads going up at the eleventh hour . . . The indie publishers of today are often compared to the indie record labels of yesteryear, so to enjoy total immersion in the wild and wonderful world of musical entrepreneurship, my perfect beach read was Taking Leaveby island resident Jeremy Thomas (Timewell Press, 2006) — a first novel about “the record business and lives hilariously out of control,” as A. L. Kennedy put it. Stephen Fry had this to say, “Jeremy Thomas is a complete original. His writing, like his life, is a whirlwind of brilliance, wonder and blunder, by turns hilarious and terrifying. Highly recommended.”
Our May reads take in West China, the coastline of North West England, the Caribbean coastline of Colombia, Latvia, Liberia, Slovakia and Palestine.
Here is our October round up of eclectic reads to delight and inspire you, belatedly yours Georgia @bookblast
Joyful satire
Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic – words and pictures on how to stop worrying and learn to love the alien next door, edited by Lynn Gaspard (Saqi Books) buy here
Commissioned in response to the US travel ban, Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic includes cartoons, graffiti, photography, colouring in pages, memoir, short stories by 34 contributors from around the world, including: Hassan Abdulrazzak, Leila Aboulela, Moris Farhi, Alex Wheatle, Sabrina Mahfouz, Chris Riddell . . . Continue reading BookBlasts® | Top 10 Reads for Independent Minds | October 2017
Are (were) your parents great readers? Tell us a bit about yourself. I was born and grew up in Taiwan. My parents both love books and I remember lots of books surrounding me as a kid.
Did you want to work in the publishing industry from the start? Yes and no. I learned how to be an editor early during the school years. I was then involved in the student movements for media freedom during around 30 years ago in Taiwan. My formal career started as a researcher and a professor in physics, in UK, USA and China. During the time, I was acting as editors for international science journals for some years. I always feel there is a need of literature and humanity publication, translating from all the languages in Asia, and I started to devote myself to Balestier Press.
Has your vision from when you started Balestier Press in 2014 changed? The vision that there should be more books in translation from Asia remains. Since we started Balestier Press, we have received numerous encouragements and support from the writers and translators around the world.
Commissioned in response to the US travel ban, Don’t Panic, I’m Islamic includes cartoons, graffiti, photography, colouring in pages, memoir, short stories by 34 contributors from around the world, including: Hassan Abdulrazzak, Leila Aboulela, Moris Farhi, Alex Wheatle, Sabrina Mahfouz, Chris Riddell . . .