Literary Translation into English in Contemporary Australia

Abstract

Australia is geographically far removed from the major publishing centres of Europe and North America, even while sharing many characteristics with those markets. The country has a talented community of established literary translators, as well as a younger generation relatively new to the profession. A number of small, independent Australian publishing houses commission and buy literary translations, distributing them nationally and internationally. Many Australian literary translators are also essayists, creative writers or academics. Although most perform on the world stage, they also report challenges, preoccupations and strengths in connection with their Australian context. This chapter outlines the contribution Australia’s translators into English have made to Australian and international literary culture and the extent to which globalisation, travel and the internet can counteract the country’s notorious “tyranny of distance”. The chapter draws on interviews to examine the experiences and perspectives of literary translators and independent publishers in Australia. Topics explored include the visibility and recognition of translation within wider Australian literary culture, local and international publication opportunities for literature in translation, translators’ critical and creative contributions, translation as research, the Australian readership and market, the role of editors and the place of Australian English in the translated text.