Arguments about translators and translation

[Valentino, Russell]

Yes, I understand and agree, Robert. It's insulting. I guess my second comment rather precedes the first one. The reason Random House can go after the Scottish Opera is that they own the rights to the only translation available in English. This is Grossman. Why is there only the one? My comparison to the music industry wasn't flippant. By comparison it's a vibrant and constantly transforming artistic environment, and I can't help wondering if it's not partly due to the manner in which artists' creative energies constantly seem to be outstripping the copyright laws. Print is so slow by comparison, and when you add translation to the mix (sorry about the pun) it points to a kind of straight jacketing of international letters. That's the part I find most disheartening.

Russell

-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Chandler
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 11:14 AM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Arguments about translators and translation

Dear Russell,

I wholeheartedly agree with what you say below.  Nearly all my previous
letters to the rights department at Random House have been attempts to get
them to be more easy-going, to be more willing to grant a licence, say, to
some small theatre or small magazine, promptly and just for a token sum, or
even gratis.

I think the continual extension of copyright duration is stultifying, for
the reasons you say.

Nevertheless, the way that Scottish Opera have behaved is insulting.

All the best,

Robert

> Protecting intellectual property is good and important, but I find it sad that
> translatability today is determined first of all by copyright, such that it
> would be impossible to recreate anything like the intense interchange of texts
> and languages in certain periods of literary history, with multiple
> translator-writers trying their hand at the same relatively contemporary
> works.

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