Issues of modern prose in English on the American

Issues of modern prose in English on the American market there are extremely rare, even more rarely notice them opinion magazines or newspapers. Latest reviews of the Polish American debut Stasiuk occurred two years ago and concerned the “Polish-Russian War” Dorothy Maslowski. American literature lovers Poland almost exclusively associated with three great poets (Milosz, Szymborska, Herbert) and Kapuścińskim. It does not follow this kind of prejudice against the Polish culture, but with increasingly less interest in American publishing translations from other languages.

The issue of books in a relatively small number of copies of several thousand copies cost about 40 thousand. dol. and most ambitious literary translation at a loss of 20 thousand. dol. Translations of books for adults are less than one percent of the approximately 170 thousand. new titles published annually in the United States. The mission carried out by an independent printing house of the Illinois Dalkey Archive Press shows that in the years 2001-06 in the U.S. market appeared Polish novels and 13 collections of short stories from the period since the beginning of modernism after the most recent literature. It is located in the European “average zone and corresponds to the scale of our country and its place in an informal ranking of” cultural influence “. Polish far as the true authors of the French writers (52 titles in the last five years), Italian (39), German (36) or even the Russians (29 titles), but placed on the same level as for example in Spain and the Czechs (12 Titles ). There are also a much better position than the Swedes (7), Romania (3) and Lithuanians (a book).

Among the 13 books of the last five years “were, among others translation of “Other pleasures” by Jerzy Pilch, and “The House, the house of the night” by Olga Tokarczuk Nortwestern issued by the University Press in cost of 500 copies. Such non-oficyny university for years to promote the translation, but recently they too abandon their mission to maximize profits. It is difficult to say whether American readers will have a growing interest in smaller non-English literature, or simply choose from what the system offers them the stars and the giants of literary publishing market backer on bestsellers, propagated in a circulation of 100 thousand. to several million copies.

If the foreign national applies for the local market for authentic publishing success, it is generally the outcome of the prestigious literary prize. However, even the Nobel is not a guarantee of high sales, and is convinced this Nortwestern University Press, which prior to the award of prizes Węgrowie Imre Kertészowi sold 3.5 thousand. copies of his translation of “the loss of Destiny.” After the announcement of the decision the Swedish Academy of Sciences rozeszło another 36 thousand. – Not bad, but no revelations.

- This is one of the greatest paradoxes of American life – said in an interview with the New York Times “Esther Allen, director of the Center for Literary Translation at Columbia University in New York, who for many years was head of the translation for the American PEN Club. – On the one hand, we believe to be cosmopolitans, we like to go to Mexican restaurants taxi driver says that in Swahili. We feel that we live in eksplodującym opportunities multikulturalnym world, but it really all boils down to different versions of being American.