Adrian Nathan West is an American writer, critic, and literary translator. He has published the novel-essay ''The Aesthetics of Degradation'' (2016), translated in German and Dutch, and the novel ''My Father’s Diet'' (2022). Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Joshua Cohen has called West “one of our best novelists.” West is a literary translator from several languages, primarily Spanish, German, Catalan, and French. He is known for his translation of '' When We Cease to Understand the World'', by Chilean author

Benjamín Labatut Benjamín Labatut (born 1980) is a Chilean writer. Early life Labatut was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He spent his childhood in The Hague, Buenos Aires, and Lima. He moved to Santiago at the age of 14. Writing Labatut's first book of stor ...

, which was supported by an award from English PEN, shortlisted for the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

, and the

National Book Award for Translated Literature The National Book Award for Translated Literature, is one of five annual National Book Awards in the USA, recognising outstanding literary works of translation into English and administered by the National Book Foundation. This award was previousl ...

, and also selected by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

for his annual Summer Reading List in 2021. He has also received the Austrian Cultural Forum’s Translation Prize in 2017 for his translation of Josef Winkler’s The Abduction and the Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award in 2024 for his translation of Open Heart by Elvira Lindo. He is the English-language translator of Swiss author

Hermann Burger Hermann Burger (10 July 1942 – 28 February 1989) was a Swiss people, Swiss poet, novelist and essayist. In his creative works Burger often focused on society's lonely outsiders and, increasingly, the inevitability of death. His virtuosity in app ...

. West is a wide-ranging literary critic and essayist, with writing on subjects such as philosophy, pornography, masculinity, drug use, American cultural phenomena, Spanish art and literature, and books in translation. His work has been published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

The Baffler ''The Baffler'' is an American magazine of cultural, political, and business analysis. Established in 1988 by editors Thomas Frank and Keith White, it was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, until 2010, when it moved to Cambridge, Massachusett ...

The Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group. From 20 ...

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

,'' and others. In 2022, he was recognized for his exceptional contributions to literature with an Arts and Letters Award from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

Personal life

West lives between Spain and the United States with the cinema critic Beatriz Leal Riesco. He is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Bibliography

As author

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As translator

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References

External links

Official website

"Advice to Writers""Benjamín Labatut and Adrian Nathan West on When We Cease to Understand the World""Revelation is Absurd: A Conversation with Adrian Nathan West"

"Body and Soul: An Interview with Adrian Nathan West"

"The Market for Abuse and Humiliation: A Conversation with Adrian Nathan West"
21st-century American male writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American translators Spanish–English translators Catalan–English translators German–English translators Literary translators Year of birth missing (living people) {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Adrian Nathan Living people