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Shelley Frisch

シェリー・フリッシュ

Shelley Frisch

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1952-01-01 （New York City）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English, German
Residence History
New York City → Princeton, New Jersey

Career

Occupations
literary translator, university teacher, editor
Active Years
1981-
Affiliations
Bucknell University, Columbia University, Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College
Nominations
PEN Translation Prize (longlisted), National Book Critics Circle Awards (longlisted), National Translation Award (longlisted)

Education

Princeton University
Humanities / Germanic Languages and Literatures
Degree: Ph.D.
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States
Doctoral dissertation 'Speculations of the origin of language and German Romanticism'

Awards

Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
2018
Work: Maybe Esther (translation)
Organization: Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
Result: ロングリスト入り
Helen and Kurt Wolff Translation Prize
2014
Organization: Helen and Kurt Wolff Translation Prize
Result: 受賞
Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize
2006
Work: Kafka: The Decisive Years (translation)
Organization: Modern Language Association
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Maybe Esther

2018 biographical nonfiction / translation

English translation of Katja Petrowskaja's work, a fragmented meditation on family history and memory.

memoryfamily historyidentity

Kafka: The Early Years

2016 biography / scholarly

English translation of Reiner Stach's biography of Kafka (early years), detailing Kafka's early life and creative background.

biographyliterary history

Kafka: The Years of Insight

2013 biography / scholarly

English translation of Reiner Stach's study on Kafka, covering Kafka's mature works and life.

biographyliterary analysis

Kafka: The Decisive Years

2005 biography / scholarly

English translation of a volume of Reiner Stach's Kafka biography, covering Kafka's decisive years.

biographymodern literature

Dietrich & Riefenstahl

2015 biography / film history

English translation of Karin Wieland's work contrasting Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl, examining their roles in film history.

film historybiographygender

Einstein: A Biography

2007 biography / history of science

English translation of Jürgen Neffe's biography of Albert Einstein, linking scientific history and personal life.

history of sciencebiography

Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography

2002 biography / philosophy

English translation of Rüdiger Safranski's philosophical biography of Nietzsche, exploring the relation between his life and thought.

philosophybiography

Bibliography

  • The Lure of the Linguistic
  • Kafka: The Decisive Years (translation)
  • Kafka: The Years of Insight (translation)
  • Kafka: The Early Years (translation)
  • Maybe Esther (translation)
  • Dietrich & Riefenstahl (translation)
  • Einstein: A Biography (translation)

Translations by Author

  • Translations of Kafka biographies
  • Translations of contemporary biographies and scholarly works

Style & Themes

Literary Style
precise, scholarly tonebalances fidelity to source text with readability
Recurring Motifs
attention to biographical detaillanguage and identity

Legacy

Recognized as a major translator from German into English, notably for translations of biographies of Kafka, Nietzsche, Einstein and others; she bridges scholarly and popular biography.

Trivia

  • Received a Ph.D. in Germanic languages and literature from Princeton University (1981).
  • Became a full-time translator in the mid-1990s, producing numerous translations of biographies and scholarly books.
  • Co-directs international translation workshops and serves on juries for translation prizes.