Names as big as Amazon have recognized the importance of translated literature as the world becomes more diverse. For this reason they have recently created AmazonCrossing which introduces readers to authors from around the world with translations of foreign language books while making award-winning and best-selling books accessible to many readers for the first time.
Caroline Croskery is an American translator of Persian contemporary literature into English. She began publishing her translations three years ago. We spoke with Caroline to find out a little more about her work and why she believes the translation of literature is so important:
“Other than travelling and immersing oneself in a foreign environment, there is no better way of experiencing a foreign culture than by reading the same literature read by the members of a foreign culture. Not everyone has the ability to read books in a foreign language. Translated literature places the reader in the same seat in which a native of the culture would sit. Translated literature is rich with foreign circumstances and is able give the non-native an immersive experience and offer insight into the complexities of foreign cultures. In their reading, readers experience how life stories unfold, how people interact and react, and see what things they hold dear and learn valuable information.
“In the case of Iran in particular, more than thirty years have passed since the time when America had dealings with Iran. Iran and the U.S. have become strangers to one another. I believe a lot can be gained by the two cultures knowing more about each other.
“I have set a goal of translating twenty-five titles by the year 2018 in all genres of contemporary Persian literature. The books I choose to translate are first best-sellers in their own country and representative of Iranian tastes and inclinations.”
There are currently six titles on Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/carolinecroskery ) with three more titles to be added by the spring of 2016. Among these titles are:
Democracy or Demo Crazy by renowned author Seyed Mehdi Shojaee - a political satire about the alleged origin of democracy, reminiscent of Machiavelli’s The Prince.
The Water Urn - a novel for children and young adults by Houshang Moradi Kermani, who has won many national and international awards including the Hans Christian Andersen Honorary diploma (1992).
- Picture left: Seyed Mehdi Shojaee, Right: Caroline Croskery
Caroline Croskery is an American translator of Persian contemporary literature into English. She began publishing her translations three years ago. We spoke with Caroline to find out a little more about her work and why she believes the translation of literature is so important:
“Other than travelling and immersing oneself in a foreign environment, there is no better way of experiencing a foreign culture than by reading the same literature read by the members of a foreign culture. Not everyone has the ability to read books in a foreign language. Translated literature places the reader in the same seat in which a native of the culture would sit. Translated literature is rich with foreign circumstances and is able give the non-native an immersive experience and offer insight into the complexities of foreign cultures. In their reading, readers experience how life stories unfold, how people interact and react, and see what things they hold dear and learn valuable information.
“In the case of Iran in particular, more than thirty years have passed since the time when America had dealings with Iran. Iran and the U.S. have become strangers to one another. I believe a lot can be gained by the two cultures knowing more about each other.
“I have set a goal of translating twenty-five titles by the year 2018 in all genres of contemporary Persian literature. The books I choose to translate are first best-sellers in their own country and representative of Iranian tastes and inclinations.”
There are currently six titles on Amazon (www.amazon.com/author/carolinecroskery ) with three more titles to be added by the spring of 2016. Among these titles are:
Democracy or Demo Crazy by renowned author Seyed Mehdi Shojaee - a political satire about the alleged origin of democracy, reminiscent of Machiavelli’s The Prince.
The Water Urn - a novel for children and young adults by Houshang Moradi Kermani, who has won many national and international awards including the Hans Christian Andersen Honorary diploma (1992).
- Picture left: Seyed Mehdi Shojaee, Right: Caroline Croskery