August was Women in Translation Month (WITMonth). The initiative was set up by Meytal Radzinski in 2014 to help promote women writers and translators from around the globe who write in languages other than English, and those who translate into English.
Translated literature has become more popular in recent years with emphasis on understanding cultural difference and those considered ‘Others’. Literature, once translated, informs us of difference, gives life to the ‘story’ of ‘Others’ and can broaden our perspectives. Its value in today’s global climate should not be underestimated.
While translation of literature is no new trend – it has been revered, reviewed and celebrated in literary circles for thousands of years since Greek, Arabic and Egyptian texts were translated for our understanding. However, it has always been considered a primarily male dominated area. Women have been underrepresented and marginalised within literature and translation.
WITMonth was envisaged as a way of overcoming this marginalisation of women by bringing together female writers and translators into a mainstream literary debate.
In 2018, the number of male authors in translation (63.64%) is almost double that of female authors in translation (32.73%), according to a study conducted by the University of Rochester’s Three Percent blog.
2008 was the worst year of the last decade for translation of female authors with only 23.4%. However, this is only slightly below the average which sits at 29.03% of women compared to 68.43 male authors. Conversely, this disparity of gender isn’t reflected within the translation industry where we find male translators are at 42.59% while female translators number 51.85%.
The positive statistics for female translators is a hopeful demonstration that gender disparity within the translation community may help to promote a desire for more female authors, publishers, agents and reviewers, thus encouraging a surge in female authors in translation.
Women in translation must strive to challenge not only a cultural bias, but also a gendered one. The lack of representation covers the above mentioned fields and also critical reception. The availability of coverage, reviews, prizes, publicity and so on, for female authors in translation is very limited, especially within the male dominated literary prize lists. Both long and short lists are frequently dominated and judged by men.
Over the last two decades there have only been three female writers who have been awarded the PEN Translation Prize. In the last three years women have made up 13% of the longlist and 16% of the shortlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.
Mainstream publishers can also be blamed for their failure to secure and promote female writers in translation, even though publishing is considered a predominantly female industry. Women in translation seem to be mostly found in the indie publishing market where there is a wealth of literature published by the likes of Virago Press, Tilted Axis or Charco Press.
The need for books written by women from different cultures to our own (then submitted for translation) is paramount at present, offering readers a glimpse into lesser known worlds, families, and societies that would otherwise remain hidden to us.
Increasing censorship and heightened fear of those that are ‘Other’ to ourselves might limit our ability to understand and embrace ‘difference’. The only way to overcome these barriers is through cultural dialogue and a balanced gender perspective.
Readers have spent what seems like an eternity listening to, and reading, the lives of ‘Others’ through the veil of white, male authors whose books only serve to reinforce stereotypes and clichés. This limited insight into the lives of women from different cultures, countries and backgrounds offers a partial and inadequate perspective.
Women in Translation Month is still a valid and much needed venture. Its resolution to support and encourage women authors in translation may offend some anti-feminists who might suggest it is irrelevant and unnecessary in today’s world.
However, as the month has now drawn to its end, it seems only fitting that we should honour those females that challenge the status-quo by promoting and celebrating women authors in translation, female translators, and all those who strive to encourage a geographically, ethnically and gender-based balance in the literary world.
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