Collective residencies / Catalan literary translation to different varieties of Spanish / Olot
ANDRES M. EHRENHAUS
From Monday, 27 February 2023 to Thursday, 2 March 2023
Bio
Andres Ehrenhaus. Buenos Aires, 1955. Translator, writer, editor. He has lived in Barcelona since 1976. He has published the books of stories Subir arriba (Sirmio, Barcelona 1993), Monogatari (Mondadori, Barcelona 2001), La seriedad (Mondadori, Barcelona 2001), Un obús cayendo despedaza (Malpaso, Barcelona 2014), the anthology El hombre de lenguas (Lom, Santiago de Chile, 2016), the novel Tratar a Fang Lo (Paradís, Buenos Aires 2006) and two collections of poems: Los 154 haikus de Shakespeare (La Fuga, Barcelona 2018 ) and Cantar las 44, both with illustrations by Elenio Pico. He is a professor of the Master's in Literary and Audiovisual Translation at Pompeu Fabra University. He joined the boards of directors of the Translators' Section of the Collegiate Writers' Association of Spain (ACEtt), starting the series of meetings called El Ojo de Polisemo, and that of CEDRO. Coordinates the Argentinian Book Week at the Calders Bookstore in Barcelona (5 editions). to Latin American publications. He was part of the drafting team of the two drafts of the Law for the Protection of Copyright Translation in Argentina.
Project
During my stay at Faber, I will coordinate a Seminar on Translation from Catalan into the different variants of Latin American and Peninsular Spanish, with practical translation workshops complemented by round tables and theoretical discussion sessions with editors, historians, critics and philologists.
We arrived in Olot at noon on Monday, February 27, with a lot of cold and the threat of snow looming in the sky. Six translators all looking for a warm and cozy corner where they can rest a little and regain their strength before going to work. All said and done: as soon as we got out of the car, the FaberLLull people welcomed us with open arms and a hot, varied and nutritious lunch. And so each of the days we spent there, in a perfect place to start the workshops and talks we had scheduled. At Hotel Riu Fluvià the landscape is spectacular and you can work and rest or be distracted in great comfort. The city is a stone's throw away and so are walks in the countryside or the forest. As a city, Olot is the perfect size, neither too big nor too small, and full of surprises and unexpected museums; the gastronomic offer is good and the people really cordial. In addition, the proximity of the Fageda d'en Jordà and the volcanoes gives it a very particular character. We are not exaggerating if we say that we have been very comfortable, perfectly taken care of in all technical aspects by the Faber staff; the work spaces are comfortable and we have not lacked for anything. Having a kitchen at your disposal is a great find. We worked well, with intensity and desire, and a lot, maybe even too much! Living in the same space makes it possible to relax the schedules a little and adds another point of relaxation to the stay. And this was not only noticed in situ but also at the public presentation at Casa América in Barcelona; that is to say that, all in all, the set of characteristics and advantages of FaberLlull Olot contributes to guarantee the excellence of projects and seminars such as the one we proposed a few months ago. As a colophon, the visit to IES Bosc de la Coma to explain to high school students what and how literary translation is was charming and very profitable and was the perfect end to the stay. Seen with a certain perspective, the existence of resources like FaberLlull help a lot to enrich the Catalan cultural scene and for those of us who are foreigners, it opens doors and unsuspected paths. On behalf of all the participants of the Subtle Investment Seminar, a special thank you to everyone who makes FaberLlull Olot possible and we hope it can grow and last for many more years. See you soon.
Andrés Ehrenhaus, coordinator of the seminar, on behalf of the whole team.