Individual residencies / Olot
SATU EKMAN
From Monday, 13 November 2023 to Friday, 1 December 2023
Bio
Satu Ekman was graduated in 1999 with a Predoctoral Degree in Spanish Philology from the University of Helsinki.
From 1995 to 2011 she was working as a Professor of Translation (Spanish-Finnish) in the Department of Spanish Philology, University of Helsinki.
Since 1992, she has worked as a literary translator from Spanish and Portuguese to Finnish, and since 2016 also from Catalan to Finnish. She has translated over fifty literary works into Finnish, mostly novels.
Some of the most prominent works are mentioned above.
EL TERCER PAÍS, Karina Sainz Borgo, Aula & Co 2022 (es-fi)
EL ASESINO HIPOCONDRIACO, Juan Jacinto Muñoz Rengel, Moebius 2020 (es-fi)
EL VIOLÍ D’AUSCHWITZ, de Maria Àngels Anglada, Bazar 2018 (cat-fi)
VICTUS, d’Albert Sánchez Piñol, Bazar 2016 (es-fi)
LA VELOCIDAD DE LA LUZ, de Javier Cercas, Bazar 2007 (es-fi)
LA INVENCIÓN DE MOREL, d’Adolfo Bioy Casares, Kookos 2002 (es-fi)
Project
At the Faber Llull Residence, I will concentrate on working on the translation of the plays Quant temps em queda by Marta Buchaca and FitzRoy by Jordi Galceran (Catalan-Finnish).
I will also use the opportunity to see FitzRoy on stage before my stay and to live in a Catalan environment, reactivating the language.
Quant temps em queda is a comedy that teaches you to reflect on life and death.
In FitzRoy, a bad weather makes four climbers to doubt whether go ahead or to give up.
I had the opportunity to work on the translations of two Catalan plays, Fitzroy, by Jordi Galceran, and Quant temps em queda (How long do I have left), by Marta Buchaca, at the Faberllull residence in Olot, from 13 November to 1 December. I am very grateful for the environment and the facilities provided that helped me to concentrate efficiently at work. It was a luxury to live in a Catalan-speaking environment, to see the fields and volcanoes every day, to go out for a walk in the fog at dawn and then getting down to work, with my head and heart full of air, of fire, earth and peace. I worked faster than I had planned, and I shared dinners and more times with beautiful people who became like family, even though we all came from different artistic and research fields, in addition to the diversity in ages and countries of origin. I think we all came to feel as if we were part of a different reality where magic happens, both in work and in human coexistence. In Olot, I was much more productive than usual and my colleagues and I had very fruitful conversations. Many thanks to the Institut Ramon Llull, Pepa and all the hotel staff: the reception, the kitchen, the waiter and the cleaning service.
