Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 4 (1999) Winner
Joel Agee
ジョエル・エイジー
Joel Agee
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1940-03-20 （New York City）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English, German (used for translations)
- Residence History
- Mexico (moved there with his mother in childhood) → East Berlin (Soviet sector, lived with family) → New York (resident in adulthood)
Career
- Occupations
- writer, translator, essayist, fiction editor
- Active Years
- 1970-
- Influenced By
- James Agee (father), Bodo Uhse (stepfather)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | — | 受賞 |
| — | National Endowment for the Arts grant | — | — | National Endowment for the Arts | 助成 |
| 1990 | DAAD fellowship (DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program) | — | — | German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) | 受賞 |
| 1999 | Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize | Translation of Penthesilea (Heinrich von Kleist) | — | Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize committee | 受賞 |
| 2004 | Modern Language Association’s Lois Roth Award | Translation of Hans Erich Nossack's Der Untergang | — | Modern Language Association | 受賞 |
| 2007 | ALTA National Translation Award | — | — | American Literary Translators Association | 受賞 |
| 2008 | The Berlin Prize (American Academy in Berlin) | — | — | American Academy in Berlin | 受賞 |
| 2007 | Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize | — | — | Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize Committee | ファイナリスト |
Guggenheim Fellowship
Result:
受賞
National Endowment for the Arts grant
Organization:
National Endowment for the Arts
Result:
助成
DAAD fellowship (DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program)
1990
Organization:
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
Result:
受賞
Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize
1999
Work:
Translation of Penthesilea (Heinrich von Kleist)
Organization:
Helen and Kurt Wolff Prize committee
Result:
受賞
Modern Language Association’s Lois Roth Award
2004
Work:
Translation of Hans Erich Nossack's Der Untergang
Organization:
Modern Language Association
Result:
受賞
ALTA National Translation Award
2007
Organization:
American Literary Translators Association
Result:
受賞
The Berlin Prize (American Academy in Berlin)
2008
Organization:
American Academy in Berlin
Result:
受賞
Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize
2007
Organization:
Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize Committee
Result:
ファイナリスト
Awards & Nominations
National Translation Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (2007) Winner
Works
Major Works
The Stone World
2022 NovelA novel following a boy trying to make sense of life; interweaves memory, fear, and family relationships.
memorycoming of agefamily
Twelve Years: An American Boyhood in East Germany
1981 MemoirA memoir recounting childhood years spent in East Germany, reflecting on family, politics, and personal memory.
exileEast Germanyfamily history
Translations
- Zwölf Jahre – Eine amerikanische Jugend in Ostdeutschland (German edition)
In the House of My Fear
2004 MemoirA memoir that recounts personal dark periods in the 1960s–70s, including drug use, religious searching, and imprisonment.
awakeningreligionyouthful turmoil
Agathe or, The Forgotten Sister (translation of Robert Musil)
2019 TranslationAn English translation of a work by Robert Musil; noted for the translator's sensitivity to language.
literary translation20th-century European literature
Prometheus Bound (translation of Aeschylus)
2015 Translation (Classical)A new translation of the Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound, characterized by clear and contemporary rendering.
punishment and rebellionmyth
Bibliography
- Twelve Years: An American Boyhood in East Germany (1981)
- In the House of My Fear (2004)
- The Stone World (2022)
- Translation: Prometheus Bound (2015)
- Translation: Agathe or, The Forgotten Sister (2019)
Translations by Author
- Heinrich von Kleist: Penthesilea (English translation)
- Hans Erich Nossack: Der Untergang (English translation)
- Robert Musil: Agathe or, The Forgotten Sister (English translation)
- Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound (English translation)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- reflective, introspective prosetranslation style balancing fidelity to the original and contemporary expression
- Recurring Motifs
- memory and traumaexile and belongingfather-son relationships
Legacy
Joel Agee is recognized as a writer and translator, particularly noted for his English translations of German literature. His memoirs about growing up in East Germany and his translations have earned him international recognition.
Archives
- Catalogue entries in the German National Library and related archives
Trivia
- He is the son of writer James Agee.
- Spent childhood in Mexico and later grew up in East Berlin.
- Had periods of involvement with drugs and interest in Buddhism in the 1960s–70s.
- Has written about a brief imprisonment in England for possession.
- As a translator he has rendered works by Heinrich von Kleist, Rilke, Musil and others into English.