Not much info up on the yet, although I think this literally just went online. (I’ve been refreshing that page like a crack addict in hopes the U of R student and Volodine translator J.T. Mahany would win . . . )

Anyway, the Center for the Art of Translation/Two Lines has available on their website:

The world opens within us at the view of ships
departing—they depart with their hair in the wind
returning—they return old and decrepit
in the dance of lights,
in the farewell revels of ports
like invalids
seated while everyone dances.

And here’s a bit of info about the author and translator:

Benjamin Fondane (1893-1944) published poems, translations and criticism in his native Romania before moving to Paris in 1923. After devoting seven years to perfecting his French, he resumed his literary activity in that language. His works include the long poems Ulysses (1933), Titanic (1937), and Exodus, and The Sorrows of Ghosts (both posthumous), as well as works of criticism on Baudelaire, Rimbaud and his mentor, the philosopher Lev Chestov.

Nathaniel Rudavsky-Brody lives in Brussels, where he works as a programmer in digital publishing. He studied math in Chicago and medieval literature in Poitiers and Paris. He has published translations of Benjamin Fondane and an article on the philosophy of sailing.

Congrats to Nathaniel and everyone who entered.

This $5,000 grant will be awarded to a proposed work of literary translation from Spanish into English and is open to anyone under the age of 30. The translation must fall under the category of fiction or letters, and the applicant will propose his or her own translation project. The project should be manageable for a five-month period of work, as the grant will be awarded in May 2009, and the translation must be completed by October 2009.

I think this is a really cool prize, and was very impressed with the work the (Kristin Dickinson, Robin Ellis, and Priscilla Layne) did on Koppstoff: Kanaka Sprak vom Rande der Gesellschaft by Feridun Zaimoglu.

There’s still plenty of time for any and all young translators out there to apply. And even if you’re not applying, you should definitely check out the redesigned website—it looks really slick.

This $5,000 prize will commission a work of literary translation by a university undergraduate or graduate student under the age of 30. The translation must be written from German into English, and must be a work of contemporary fiction by a living German writer. The translation must fall under the category of fiction or letters. The student will propose his or her own translation project; acceptable proposals include a novella, a play, a collection of short stories or poems, or a collection of letters that have literary import. The project should be manageable for a five-month period of work; the commission will be granted in May 2008, and the translation must be completed by October 2008.

Visit the site for more info. (BTW: I assume the January 30, 2007 deadline is just a typo.)

And feel contact me if you think Open Letter might be interested in your project . . .