![]() ![]() The discussion has shone a light on the often unexamined world of literary translation and its lack of racial diversity. Gorman’s poem of hope for “a nation that isn’t broken, but simply unfinished” into the latest focus of debates about identity politics across the continent. ![]() Literary figures and newspaper columnists across Europe have been arguing for weeks about what these decisions mean, turning Ms. Then, the poem’s Catalan publisher dropped Victor Obiols, a white translator, who said in a phone interview his publisher told him his profile “was not suitable for the project.” But many social media users disagreed, asking why a white writer had been chosen when Gorman’s reading at the inauguration had been a significant cultural moment for Black people. Rijneveld, who uses the pronouns they and them, was the “ideal candidate,” Meulenhoff said in a statement. It began in February when Meulenhoff, a publisher in the Netherlands, said it had asked Marieke Lucas Rijneveld, a writer whose debut novel won last year’s Booker International Prize, to translate Gorman’s poem into Dutch. “This whole debate started,” Gumusay said, with a sigh. ![]() But as they worked, an argument was brewing elsewhere in Europe about who has the right to translate the poet’s work - an international conversation about identity, language and diversity in a proud but often overlooked segment of the literary world. ![]() For nearly two weeks, the team debated word choices, occasionally emailing Ms. ![]()
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