PEN Translation Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 15 (1977) Winner
Gregory Rabassa
グレゴリー・ラバッサ
Guregori Rabassa
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1922-03-09 （Yonkers, New York, United States）
- Died
- 2016-06-13 （Branford, Connecticut, United States） age 94
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Yonkers, New York (birthplace) → New York City (taught at Columbia University) → Queens, New York (taught at Queens College) → Branford, Connecticut (place of death)
Career
- Occupations
- translator, university professor
- Active Years
- 1946-2016
- Affiliations
- Columbia University, Queens College, City University of New York, PEN American Center (associated via awards and activities)
- Memberships
- PEN American Center (association)
- Influenced By
- Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, Jorge Amado
- Influenced
- English-language translators, Edith Grossman (contemporary translator)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth College | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| Columbia University | — | — | PhD | — | United States |
Dartmouth College
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Columbia University
Degree:
PhD
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | National Medal of Arts | — | — | U.S. government (National Endowment for the Arts) | 受賞 |
| 2001 | Gregory Kolovakos Award | — | — | PEN American Center | 受賞 |
| 1982 | PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation | — | — | PEN America | 受賞 |
| 1977 | PEN Translation Prize | The Autumn of the Patriarch (translation of Gabriel García Márquez) | — | PEN America | 受賞 |
| 1967 | National Book Award for Translation | Hopscotch (translation of Julio Cortázar) | Translation | National Book Foundation | 受賞 |
| 2006 | PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir | If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents, A Memoir | — | PEN America | 受賞 |
| 2011 | Commander of the Order of Merit (Portugal) | — | — | Portuguese Republic | 叙勲 |
National Medal of Arts
2006
Organization:
U.S. government (National Endowment for the Arts)
Result:
受賞
Gregory Kolovakos Award
2001
Organization:
PEN American Center
Result:
受賞
PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation
1982
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
受賞
PEN Translation Prize
1977
Work:
The Autumn of the Patriarch (translation of Gabriel García Márquez)
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
受賞
National Book Award for Translation
1967
Work:
Hopscotch (translation of Julio Cortázar)
Category:
Translation
Organization:
National Book Foundation
Result:
受賞
PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir
2006
Work:
If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents, A Memoir
Organization:
PEN America
Result:
受賞
Commander of the Order of Merit (Portugal)
2011
Organization:
Portuguese Republic
Result:
叙勲
Awards & Nominations
PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (1982) Winner
Gregory Kolovakos Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (2001) Winner
Works
Major Works
Hopscotch
1966 Literary fiction (Latin American literature)An English translation of Julio Cortázar's experimental novel, noted for reproducing the novel's sprawling narrative and multiple reading orders in English.
experimental narrative structureurban lifewordplay
Translations
- Original: Rayuela (Spanish)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
1970 Magic realism / NovelThe English translation of García Márquez's landmark novel. The translation played a major role in the book's reception in the English-speaking world.
family sagatime and memorymagical elements
Translations
- Original: Cien años de soledad (Spanish)
The Autumn of the Patriarch
1976 Novel / Political allegoryAn English translation of García Márquez's novel, praised for rendering the author's long-period sentences and inverted syntaxes smoothly; contributed to winning a PEN translation prize.
power and solitudeauthoritarianism
Translations
- Original: El otoño del patriarca (Spanish)
Chronicle of a Death Foretold
1982 Novella / Investigative elementsAn English translation of García Márquez's shorter novel, noted for transferring the book's reportorial narrative style into English.
fate and honorcommunal responsibility
Translations
- Original: Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Spanish)
The Apple in the Dark
1967 Literary fiction (Brazilian literature)A translation of Clarice Lispector's novel, one of the translations that introduced important Brazilian literature to English readers.
inner explorationexistential unease
Translations
- Original: A maçã no escuro (Portuguese)
Captains of the Sands
Brazilian literature / Social novelAn English translation of Jorge Amado's novel, part of Rabassa's work introducing socially engaged Brazilian literature.
povertyyouth and society
Translations
- Original: Capitães da Areia (Portuguese)
Bibliography
- Hopscotch (Rayuela) — Julio Cortázar (translation, 1966)
- One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad) — Gabriel García Márquez (translation, 1970)
- The Autumn of the Patriarch (El otoño del patriarca) — Gabriel García Márquez (translation, 1976)
Translations of Works
- One Hundred Years of Solitude — English translation by Gregory Rabassa (1970)
- Hopscotch — English translation by Gregory Rabassa (1966)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Fluent style that aims to reproduce the author's voice in EnglishImprovisatory rendering that reflects the rhythm and feel of the original
- Recurring Motifs
- references to jazz and rhythmwordplay and layered narration
Legacy
Gregory Rabassa was a leading translator who introduced Latin American literature to English-language audiences in the late 20th century. His translations are praised for capturing the spirit of the originals in English and helped shape the international reputations of authors like García Márquez and Cortázar.
Academic Societies
- PEN American Center (association)
In Popular Culture
- Contributed to the boom of Latin American literature in the English-speaking world
Quotes
-
I just let the text lead me along. In my mind, the book I’m translating exists in English even before it’s translated. I just have to pull it out.
Source: Interview with the University of Delaware (2006) (2006)
Trivia
- Gabriel García Márquez reportedly declared Rabassa's English translation of One Hundred Years of Solitude superior to the Spanish original.
- Served as a cryptographer in the OSS during World War II.
- At Cortázar's advice, García Márquez waited three years for Rabassa to schedule translating One Hundred Years of Solitude.