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Naja Marie Aidt [Denmark] |
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Are there any exciting trends, movement, or schools in contemporary Danish fiction? Who do you feel are the overlooked contemporary authors in Denmark who should be more widely read and translated? The good thing about writing in this language spoken by so few, and in a country where generally the state subsidizes culture heavily, is that Danish literature is supported both by Danish and Nordic funds. This means that a lot of work gets published, including experimental and creative literature. What's happening currently is that many small publishers are coming up that print, among other things, poetry. Young poets can get their work published quite easily, and many other types of literature – also translations – that larger houses consider unprofitable are given a chance. To me this is extremely important. There's a trend today - you see it in many other countries such as France - of combining biographical material with fiction, and often in a fragmentary form. Examples of those who are working in this manner are the poets Mette Moestrup and Christian Dorph. But there are many other fantastic writers who definitely should be translated and published outside Denmark. Other poets besides Moestrup and Dorph are Palle Sigsgaard and Ursula Andkjær Olsen. Kristian Bang Foss, Pia Juul, Helle Helle and Ida Jessen are among the important younger novelists. We have a long literary history, with authors such as Karen Blixen, Søren Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen serving as our (translated) forefathers and –mothers, and although American and German literature especially are prominent sources of inspiration for Danish writers, works are still being written in a distinctive Nordic tradition – an unadorned, strongly linguistic mode of expression emphasizing the use of language, where writers take on their subject matter with absolutely no fears, no holding back. No taboos. Compared to the rest of European literature, where emphasis often is more on language than plot, language plays perhaps an even larger role for us. And I consider that to be our finest distinction. Literature of high artistic quality, whether it be underground poetry or a novel of broad scope. And it all ties in with the financial support given to writers, allowing them to spend their time writing instead of using all their energy teaching, or mopping stairways. It also permits a great freedom – we Danish writers don't necessarily need to appeal to a certain target group, a certain market, we can survive without writing bestsellers. Who are the contemporary European writers from other countries that are writing compelling fiction? In my opinion there are many. In Sweden, Kjerstin Ekman, Mara Lee, Sara Stridsberg and the poet, Ulf Karl Olov Nilsson. In Germany, Julia Franck, Zsuzsa Bànk and Daniel Kehlmann. Antonio Muñoz Molina from Spain. Yannick Haenel, a Frenchman. Do you want your work to be translated? Why or why not? I’m very happy that my work has been translated into other languages. Who wouldn’t be? I never think about writing to satisfy a particular market, but I’m grateful when someone wants to translate my books. And it gives me a great opportunity to travel and meet other audiences who read my books with different eyes, different from those of Danes. Given a choice, would you prefer a faithful, literal translation of your work or an interpretive re-imagining of it? Why? A translator always has to be both faithful to a work and to re-interpret it. That’s the trick, to be able to do both, simultaneously. I don’t believe that a translator should add to or directly alter a text. But it must be adapted to the target language, to preserve its beauty and strength. |
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