Barbara Winifred Wright (13 October 1915 – 3 March 2009) was an English translator of modern

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

Early life

Wright was born on 13 October 1915 in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. After attending

Godolphin School Godolphin School is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for girls in Salisbury, England, which was founded in 1726 and opened in 1784. The school educates girls between the ages of three an ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, she studied to be a pianist at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in London and trained under Alfred Cortot in Paris. Wright taught at

Dora Russell Dora Winifred Russell, Countess Russell ( Black; 3 April 1894 – 31 May 1986) was a British author, a feminist and socialist campaigner, and the second wife of the philosopher Bertrand Russell. She was a campaigner for contraception and pea ...

's Beacon Hill School from 1936 to 1937. In 1938 she married Walter Hubbard, a kinsman of the

Barons Addington Barons may refer to: *Baron (plural), a rank of nobility *Barons (surname), a Latvian surname *Barons, Alberta, Canada * ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series * ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film Sports * Birmingham Barons, a Min ...

– the couple had a daughter in 1944, before separating in 1957. Though she never formally studied as a translator, Wright believed that her work as an accompanist helped her capture the rhythm of the text. Her first major translation was

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; ; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French Artistic symbol, symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896)'','' often cited as a forerunner of the Dada, Surrealism, Surrealist, and Futurism, Futurist ...

's ''

Ubu Roi ''Ubu Roi'' (; "Ubu the King" or "King Ubu") is a play by French writer Alfred Jarry, then 23 years old. It was first performed in Paris in 1896, by Aurélien Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre at the Nouveau-Théâtre (today, the Théâtre de ...

'', published in 1951 by Gaberbocchus Press."Barbara Wright Leading light in the translation of modern French literature"
''The Guardian'', John Calder, 7 May 2009

Translator

Wright specialised in the translation of poetic prose and drama with a focus on French surrealist and existential writing. While working on a translation, she immersed herself in the author's world. Reading other texts by the writer, conferring with

francophones The French language became an international language, the second international language alongside Latin, in the Middle Ages, "from the fourteenth century onwards". It was not by virtue of the power of the Kingdom of France: '"... until the end ...

about French idioms and, where possible, forging relationships with the authors were all aspects of her process. Over the course of her career Wright worked closely with, and befriended,

Raymond Queneau Raymond Auguste Queneau (; ; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo (), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau, the only child of Auguste Que ...

, Robert Pinget and

Nathalie Sarraute Nathalie Sarraute (; born Natalia Ilinichna Tcherniak (); – 19 October 1999) was a French writer and lawyer. She was nominated in 1969 for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Nobel Committee member Lars Gyllensten. Personal life Sarraute wa ...

. In addition to her

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

s, Wright authored literary criticism and was a regular contributor to 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 ...

'' as a reviewer. After she had completed translations of two short stories by Queneau, the author proposed that Wright translate his '' Exercices de style''. The work had been deemed 'untranslatable' due to Queneau's reliance on unique French writing styles and language. Trusting her skill, Queneau encouraged and endorsed Wright's improvised English equivalents of French turns of phrase. The result was a resounding success with her text becoming the basis for translations of the work in other languages. In 2008 it was recognised as one of the best translations during a 50-year period by the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

. In 1953 Wright was elected a member of the College of Pataphysics, as ''Régente de Zozologie Shakespearienne''. She was elevated to Satrape in 2001, a position she held alongside

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

and

Jean Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard (, ; ; – 6 March 2007) was a French sociology, sociologist and philosopher with an interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as well as hi ...

. In 1986 Wright was appointed

Commandeur Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, t ...

of l'

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

. She was also a two-time recipient of the Scott Moncrieff Prize. Wright was recognised in 1987 for her translation of Pierre Albert-Birot's ''Grabinoulor'' and again in 1992 for Michel Tournier's ''The Midnight Love Feast''. After separating from her husband, Wright lived at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

north London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, and died on 3 March 2009. Her literary translation papers are held by the Lilly Library at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. The authors she translated who are represented in the collection include

Jean Hamburger Jean Hamburger (15 July 1909 – 1 February 1992) was a French physician, surgeon and essayist. He is particularly known for his contribution to nephrology, and for having performed the first renal transplantation in France in 1952. Biograph ...

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

, Alfred Jarry, Pierre Lauer, Robert Pinget, Raymond Queneau, Nathalie Sarraute and

Stefan Themerson Stefan Themerson (25 January 1910 – 6 September 1988) was a Polish writer of children's literature, poet and inventor of Semantic Poetry, novelist, script writer filmmaker, composer and philosopher. He wrote in at least three languages. With ...

. Correspondence from publishers of Wright's works, including Gaberbocchus Press,

John Calder John Mackenzie Calder (25 January 1927 – 13 August 2018) was a Scottish-Canadian writer and publisher who founded the company Calder Publishing in 1949. Biography Calder was born in Montreal, Canada, into the Calder family associated with th ...

Doubleday Doubleday may refer to: * Doubleday (surname), including a list of people with the name Publishing imprints * Doubleday (publisher), imprint of Knopf Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House * Doubleday Canada, imprint of Penguin Random ...

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

, New Directions, the

Atlas Press Atlas Press began publishing in 1983, and specialises in extremist and avant-garde prose writing from the 1890s to the present day. It is the largest publisher in English of books on Surrealism and has an extensive list relating to Dada, Surreal ...

and Red Dust, are also present.

Translations

Pierre Albert-Birot

* ''The First Book of Grabinoulor''.1986 * ''31 Pocket Poems''. 2003

Fernando Arrabal Fernando Arrabal Terán (; ; born August 11, 1932) is a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, film director, novelist, and poet. He was born in Melilla and settled in France in 1955. Regarding his nationality, Arrabal describes himself as "desterra ...

*''Orison''; ''The Two Executioners''; ''Fernando and Lis''; ''The Car Cemetery'' in ''Plays. vol. 1'' 1962. * ''Guernica''; ''The Labyrinth''; ''The Tricycle''; ''Picnic on the Battlefield''; ''The Condemned Man's Tricycle'' in ''Plays. vol. 2''. 1967.

Elisabeth Badinter

* ''The Unopposite Sex an/Woman: The One is the Other'. 1989

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

* ''

Eleutheria The Greek word "ἐλευθερία" (capitalized Ἐλευθερία; Attic Greek pronunciation: ), transliterated as eleutheria, is a Greek term for, and personification of, liberty. Eleutheria personified had a brief career on coins of Alexan ...

''. 1996

Simone Benmussa Simone Benmussa (5 June 1932 – 4 June 2001) was a Tunisian-born French writer and theatre director. One of her best known plays was '' The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs''. Biography She was born into a Jewish family in Tunis and attended th ...

* ''The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs''. 1979 * ''Three Plays.'' (''The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs, Appearance'' and ''The Death of Ivan Illich'') in collaboration with

Donald Watson Donald Watson (2 September 1910 – 16 November 2005) was an English animal rights and veganism advocate who co-founded The Vegan Society. Early life Watson was born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, the son of a headmaster in a mining community. As a ...

2000 * 'Appearances' in ''Gambit'' No. 35. 1980

Sylvia Bourdon Sylvia Bourdon (born 1949) is a French-German businesswoman, former pornographic actress, artist, and educator. She gained prominence in the 1970s as an actress in pornographic films, later transitioning into business, education, and activism. S ...

* ''Love is a Feast.'' 1977.

Muriel Cerf

* 'Blitz-Fortune' in ''Real Life – Writers from Nine Countries Illuminate the Life of the Modern Woman''. 1981

André Couteaux André Couteaux (1925 – 1985) was a French writer and a scenarist. Biography He was married to Béatrice de Cambronne, the daughter of Claude de Cambronne, with whom he had a son, Stanislas Couteaux. He was born in Ankara. He is also the ...

* ''Portrait of the Boy as a Young Wolf/My Father's Keeper''. 1968.

Roland Dubillard

* ''The House of Bones''. 1971. * ''The Swallows''. 1969

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

* ''The Long Absence''. 1966.

Romain Gary Romain Gary (; 2 December 1980), born Roman Kacew () and also known by the pen name Émile Ajar, was a French novelist, diplomat, film director, and World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice (once under a ps ...

* ''King Solomon''. 1983

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

* ''

The Balcony ''The Balcony'' () is a Play (theatre), play by the French people, French dramatist Jean Genet. It is set in an unnamed city that is experiencing a revolutionary uprising in the streets; most of the action takes place in an upmarket brothel that ...

''. 1971. (with

Terry Hands Terence David Hands, (9 January 1941 – 4 February 2020) was an English theatre director. He founded the Liverpool Everyman Theatre and ran the Royal Shakespeare Company for thirteen years during one of the company's most successful periods; ...

)

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

* ''The Dream, The Sphinx'' and ''The Death of T. in Grand Street'' in ''Space'' No. 54. 1995

Christian Dietrich Grabbe Christian Dietrich Grabbe (11 December 1801 – 12 September 1836) was a German dramatist of the ''Vormärz'' era. He wrote many historical plays conceiving a disillusioned and pessimistic world view, with some shrill scenes. Heinrich Heine s ...

* ''Comedy, Satire. Irony and Deeper Meaning'' (translation from German, illustrated by Franciszka Themerson). 1955.

Henri Guigonnat

* ''Daemon in Lithuania''. 1985

Jean Hamburger Jean Hamburger (15 July 1909 – 1 February 1992) was a French physician, surgeon and essayist. He is particularly known for his contribution to nephrology, and for having performed the first renal transplantation in France in 1952. Biograph ...

* ''The Diary of William Harvey''. 1992

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

* ''Journeys Among the Dead.'' 1985

Ludovic Janvier

* ''The Bathing Girl'' (revision of translation by John Matthew). 1976

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; ; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French Artistic symbol, symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896)'','' often cited as a forerunner of the Dada, Surrealism, Surrealist, and Futurism, Futurist ...

* '' The Supermale''. 1968. * ''Ubu Roi'' (illustrated by Franciszka Themerson). 1951.

Yves Klein Yves Klein (; 28 April 1928 – 6 June 1962) was a French artist and an important figure in post-war European art. He was a leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by art critic Pierre Restany. Klein wa ...

* ''Selected Writings''. (in part). 1974

Monique Lange

* ''The Catfish'' in ''New Writers 1''. 1960.

Pierre Lauer

* ''The Suns of Badarane''. 1971.

Herbert Le Porrier

* ''The Doctor From Cordoba''. 1979.

Andrée Martinerie Andrée Martinerie (17 April 1917 – 1997) was a 20th-century French writer, laureate of the prix des libraires on 1961. Biography An aggregée of classical letters, Andrée Martinerie began her career by translating important authors such ...

* ''Second Spring''. 1962.

Patrick Modiano Jean Patrick Modiano (; born 30 July 1945), generally known as Patrick Modiano, is a French novelist and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is a noted writer of autofiction, the blend of autobiography and historical fiction. I ...

* ''Honeymoon''. 1992

René de Obaldia René de Obaldia (22 October 1918 – 27 January 2022) was a French playwright and poet. He was elected to the Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary ...

* ''Monsieur Klebs and Rosalie'' in ''Plays'' Vol. 4. 1985

Robert Pinget

* ''A Bizarre Will.'' 1989. * ''Abel and Bela.''. 1987. * ''Be Brave''. 1994. * ''Between Fantoine and Agapa''. 1982. * ''Fable''. 1980. * ''Film script: 15 Rue des Lilas''. in Renouard & Kelly. 2013 * ''Monsieur Songe'' with ''The Harness, Plough''. 1988. * ''Passacaglia''. 1978. * ''Recurrent Melody''. 1975. * ''Someone''. 1984. * ''That Voice''. 1982. * ''The Apocrypha''. 1986. * ''The Enemy''. 1991. * ''The Libera Me Domine''. 1972 * ''Theo, or The New Era''. 1994. * ''Traces of Ink''. 1998. * ''Trio'' (''Between Fatoine and Agapa'', ''That Voice'', ''Passacaglia''). 2005.

Pol-Dives (Vladimir Polissadiv)

* ''The Song of Bright Misery''. 1955.

Aude Yung-de Prévaux

* ''Jacques & Lotha''. 2000

Raymond Queneau Raymond Auguste Queneau (; ; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo (), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau, the only child of Auguste Que ...

* ''

Exercises in Style ''Exercises in Style'' (), written by Raymond Queneau, is a collection of 99 retellings of the same story, each in a different style. In each, the narrator gets on the "S" bus (now no. 84), witnesses an altercation between a man (a zazou) with a l ...

''. 1958. * '' Zazie in the Metro''. 1960. * ''A Blue Funk'' and ''Dino'' in ''French Writing Today''. 1968. * ''Alfred'' in ''Journal of Literary Translation. vol. XXIII''. 1990 * ''Between Blue and Blue''. 1967. * ''Five Stories: Panic; Dino; At the Edge of the Forest; A Blue Funk; The Trojan Horse''. 2000. * ''Pierrot Mon Ami''. 1987. * ''The Bark Tree''. 1968. * ''The Flight of Icarus''. 1973. * ''The Last Days''. 1990. * ''The Sunday of Life''. 1976. * ''The Trojan Horse; At the Edge of the forest''. 1954. * ''We Always Treat Women Too Well''. 1981 * Introduction and comments with extracts from ''Zazie'', ''Pierrot'', and ''The Flight of Icarus'', in "Tolling Elves 5" February 2003 to celebrate Queneau's centenary. * publication of script for radio adaptation of ''Exercises in Style'' broadcast on 25 December 1959 by the BBC with introduction by Barbara Wright. 2006.

Pascal Quignard Pascal Quignard (; born 23 April 1948) is a French writer born in Verneuil-sur-Avre, Eure. In 2002 his novel ''Les Ombres errantes'' (''The Roving Shadows'') won the Prix Goncourt, France's top literary prize. ''Terrasse à Rome'' (''A Terrace i ...

* ''Georges de La Tour''. 1991

Alain Robbe-Grillet Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the ''Nouveau Roman'' () trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simo ...

* ''Snapshots'' and ''Towards a New Novel''. 1965. * ''In the Corridors of the Underground'' in ''French Writing Today''. 1968. * ''The Secret Room'' in ''The Penguin Book of French Short Stories''. 1968.

Jean Rouaud Jean Rouaud (; born 13 December 1952) is a French author, who was born in Campbon, Loire-Atlantique. In 1990 his novel ''Fields of Glory'' (French: ''Les Champs d'honneur'') won the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") i ...

* ''Of Illustrious Men''. 1996 * ''The World, More or Less''. 1997

Nathalie Sarraute Nathalie Sarraute (; born Natalia Ilinichna Tcherniak (); – 19 October 1999) was a French writer and lawyer. She was nominated in 1969 for the Nobel Prize in Literature by Nobel Committee member Lars Gyllensten. Personal life Sarraute wa ...

* ''Childhood''. 1983 * ''Here''. 1997 * ''It is There and other plays''. 1980 * ''The Use of Speech''. 1982 * ''You Don't Love Yourself''. 1990 * ''Fragments From Darkness''. 1998

Coline Serrau

* ''Lapin, Lapin''. 1995

Liliane Siegel

* ''In the Shadow of Sartre''. 1990

Stefan Themerson Stefan Themerson (25 January 1910 – 6 September 1988) was a Polish writer of children's literature, poet and inventor of Semantic Poetry, novelist, script writer filmmaker, composer and philosopher. He wrote in at least three languages. With ...
and
Franciszka Themerson Franciszka Themerson (28 June 1907 – 29 June 1988) was a Polish, later British, painter, illustrator, filmmaker and stage designer. Biography Themerson was born in Warsaw in 1907, the daughter of the artist Jakub Weinles and pianist Łucja ( ...

* ''Mr Rouse Builds His House''. 1950 (translated from Polish with Stefan Themerson)

Roland Topor Roland Topor (7 January 1938 – 16 April 1997) was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and TV writer, filmmaker and actor, who was known for the surrealism, surreal nature of his work. He was of Po ...

* ''Leonardo Was Right''. 1978

Michel Tournier Michel Tournier (; 19 December 1924 − 18 January 2016) was a French writer. He won awards such as the '' Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française'' in 1967 for '' Friday, or, The Other Island'' and the Prix Goncourt for '' The Erl-King'' ...

* ''The Fetishist and Other Stories''. 1983 * ''A Garden at Hammamet.'' 1986 * ''The Golden Droplet''. 1987 * ''The Midnight Love Feast''. 1991 * ''Totems''. 1991

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...

* ''Seven Dada Manifestoes'' and ''Lampisteries''. 1977. ''Wright also wrote various plays, libretti (three by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

), artists' manifestos, composers' programme notes, introductions, forewords and postscripts.''

References

External links

Finding aid to Barbara Wright's papers
at Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington.
Wright-ing the Untranslable
introduction to Barbara Wright's papers at Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Barbara 1915 births 2009 deaths People from Worthing People from Hampstead Writers from the London Borough of Camden Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres English translators 20th-century English translators French–English translators