In an interview with the Japanese site Asahi, translator Jay Rubin shared thoughts about working with Haruki Murakami–revealing the impending deadlines for the English translation of Murakami’s three-volume novel, 1Q84.

Rubin (pictured, via) has translated a number of Murakami novels, including Norwegian Wood and  The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. The translator turned in his translation of the first book in January and must complete the second book by November 15th.  He thought that translator Philip Gabriel had the same deadline for the third book.

Here’s more from the interview: “I e-mail him or his editor at Shinchosha Publishing Co. He is a good e-mail correspondent. Many passages of “1Q84″ could be translated into either first or third person, and I have asked him which he prefers in certain cases. He usually advises me to do whatever works best in English…Because Murakami’s style is generally simple, the challenge is to write simple sentences in English that still have rhythm and don’t sound flat or boring.” (Via Michael Orthofer)

Booktunes has published an iTunes playlist collecting 12 songs from the first part of Haruki Murakami‘s new novel, 1Q84.

The book rocketed up the bestseller list in Japan, but English-speaking readers won’t be able to read the novel until September 2011. Luckily, we can listen to the music already. The Booktunes playlist contains a fascinating range of music, from Nat King Cole jazz to Janaceks’ Sinfonietta.

Here’s more from Booktunes: “As soon as Booktunes began Murakami’s long awaited new novel, 1q84, we knew we were in for a good time: the first of the three parts of his magnum opus opens with Janacecks Sinfonietta. Even better, after that the book overflows with references to pop music and jazz. Literature and music, Booktunes’ two favourite things, combine to create the complex worlds of 1984 and 1q84 and tell a typically spellbinding story that addresses the usual Murakami themes and subjects.”

Read more

The September issue of Playboy magazine will feature an excerpt from the Lydia Davis translation of Madame Bovary. Playboy‘s headline called Gustave Flaubert‘s classic “The Most Scandalous Novel of All Time.”

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner declared the piece to be “a great read” in a tweet. The Book Bench scoffed at the “scandalous” title.

What do you think? An excerpt from the post: “Though Madame Bovary was truly scandalous when it was released, it cannot shock now, in part due to Playboy and its role in, shall we say, defining deviancy downward; and in part due to [Madame] Bovary itself-having been written (and successful), it changed the standards for what was acceptable territory for fiction.”

Read more

PEN American Center president Kwame Anthony Appiah defended the Park51 Community Center today, voicing the literary organization’s support for the proposed project many have labeled “Ground Zero Mosque.”

Here is an excerpt from his statement: “We oppose all efforts to circumscribe this freedom; we deplore the rhetoric of suspicion that seeks to deny our common humanity and shared aspirations; and we emphatically reject the tyranny of fear … None of this is to deny the anguish of those who lost family and friends in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, nor is it to diminish the trauma we experienced and still clearly share. Nevertheless, we are sure no lasting comfort or peace can come from abridging the rights of others or yielding to distrust and fear.”

His remarks also singled out the poetry of Sufi leaders Rumi and Ibn Arabi–arguing “writers have a key place in this moment” that has bitterly divided the United States.

Last night GalleyCat prowled the aisles at the Best Translated Book Award shortlist party. Held at Idlewild Books in Manhattan, the short presentation was standing-room only.

We mingled with people from all corners of the translation universe: Archipelago Books, NYRB Classics, and M.A.Orthofer from The Literary Saloon. The finalists were drawn from a 25-book longlist, and the books represented came from 24 different countries. In addition, the poetry finalists were also revealed.

At the announcement, Chad Post from Open Letter Books said that major publishers were decreasing the number of translated books they published, a tremendous boon to small presses. “I may not be able to get the best American author,” he explained, but I can get the absolute best Hungarian writer!”

The ten book shortlist follows after the jump.

Read more

As the recession dragged on this year, translated fiction saw a small increase, but poetry translations decreased by nearly 14 percent compared to last year.

Over at the excellent blog Three Percent, Open Letter Press director Chad W. Post compiled the 2009 Translation spreadsheet, tabulating all the translated poetry and fiction released in the United States. To find out more about Open Letter, check out this new NY Times feature.

Here’s more about the spreadsheet, from the post: “In 2008 there were 362 total titles published (280 fiction, 82 poetry); In 2009 there were 348 total titles published (283 fiction, 65 poetry) … The most translated language in 2009 was Spanish (59 books), followed by French (51), German (31), Arabic (22), Italian (18), Japanese (18), Swedish (18), Russian (12), and Norwegian (11).” (Via Book Bench)