issue 34 - New Books in German

New German-Language
Literature Prize
The Friedrich Ulfers Prize is
Deutsches Haus NYU & Festival
Neue Literatur’s testimony to the
rising importance of Germanlanguage
literature in America.
The prize will be awarded in
conjunction with the opening of
the festival each February, and will
go to a leading publisher, writer,
critic, translator or scholar who
has championed the advancement
of German-language literature in
the United States. The prize will be
awarded annually by Deutsches
Haus NYU and the winner will be
selected by a committee comprised
of the organisations which host
Festival Neue Literatur each year.
The prize is made possible by
Professor Friedrich Ulfers, Associate
Professor of German at New York
University. In the past he has
served as Assistant Dean of the
College of Arts and Science, the
German Department’s Director of
Undergraduate Studies, Director
of the NYU in Berlin Summer, and
Director of Deutsches Haus NYU.
He has taught not only in the
German Department, but also in
NYU’s interdisciplinary programs,
offering courses that engage a
range of interests, including literary
theory, continental philosophy, and
the relationships between science,
literature and philosophy.
The first recipient of the Friedrich
Ulfers Prize was Carol Brown
Janeway, a translator, author and
senior executive at Alfred A. Knopf.
She has published a large selection
of German books for American
readers, many of which she
translated herself. The list includes
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink,
Measuring the World and Fame
by Daniel Kehlmann, Perfume by
Patrick Süskind, Guilt by Ferdinand
von Schirach, among others.
Martin Rauchbauer, the current
Director of Deutsches Haus NYU,
was delighted that Janeway
was chosen, commenting that
her ‘legendary translations and
publications of writers such as
18 News and INFORMation
From left to right: Martin Rauchbauer, Director, Deutsches Haus NYU, Carol Brown
Janeway, Friedrich Ulfers, Daniel Kehlmann
Bernhard Schlink, Daniel Kehlmann,
and Thomas Bernhard show how
a single person can shape the
perception of contemporary
German-language literature in an
entire country,’ giving some insight
into the lengths to which she has
gone to promote German literature
in the US.
At the opening reception for the
Festival Neue Literatur 2013, which
was held at the Goethe-Institut
New York’s SoHo office, Janeway
was presented with a certificate
signed by Professor Ulfers, a
beautifully cut trophy sponsored
by Swarovski Gems, and a $5,000
cash prize sponsored by Deutsches
Haus NYU and Professor Ulfers.
Daniel Kehlmann, two of whose
books Janeway has translated,
gave a moving laudatio in her
honor, and introduced her to the
crowd by saying, ‘Some of us,
those who neither write nor work
in publishing, might not know
it: Carol Brown Janeway is first
and foremost a publisher. She
translates for her own – and our –
pleasure. She translates on the side
and for recreation, translating is
how she spends her holidays.’
He also praised her for the fact
that ‘she creates a voice, which
is close to the author’s original
voice, but is an English version
of it, something not equal, but
equivalent.’ Janeway aims to
preserve the feel of an author’s
book through translation, instead
of trying to remind readers that
they are reading something
that was first written in another
language. Kehlmann emphasised
this point by stating that ‘when it
comes to translation theory, Carol
is a dilettante, she is just incapable
of understanding why it should
be good for a writer to become
unreadable in the process.’ He
stressed the difference between
what he called an ‘academic
translator’ and Janeway, saying
that academic translators are
encouraged to maintain the
syntax of the original language,
whereas Janeway aims to maintain
the content and voice of the
original language.
He praised her ability to create
something that is truly collaborative
by ‘invent[ing] her own sentences
alongside the writer’s sentences,’
which is part of her effort to create
an ‘English version’ of the author’s
voice. He also spoke about
Janeway’s willingness to tackle a
challenge: a chapter of his book
© Isabelle Duverger
Fame included a ‘skaz-language’
that he created in the novel,
which he said he thought could be
translated into pretty much any
language except English, but he
was able to convince Janeway to
create an English equivalent of the
‘internet nerd chapter,’ which was
filled with ‘her own ideas and jokes.’
Janeway spoke at the reception
as well, mentioning that the first
author she acquired was a German
author, Lothar-Günther Buchheim,
who wrote Das Boot. The book
went on to be a bestseller and was
made into a film. In fact, several
of Janeway’s books – be they
translations of hers or books she
has acquired – have been made
into films, including The Reader
and Perfume.
The evening was a celebration of
translation and of the beginning
of yet another wonderful Festival
Neue Literatur. There were
over 150 publishing and media
professionals in attendance at
the reception, and there was
lively conversation preceding
and following the speeches.
The 2014 winner of the Friedrich
Ulfers Prize will be announced at
the opening reception of the fifth
annual Festival Neue Literatur in
late February 2014.
By Grace Moss, German Book
Office New York
Daniel Kehlmann presents his laudatio to the audience at the Festival Neue Literatur
opening reception
© Gudron Olthoff