Leila Vennewitz (19128 August 2007) was a Canadian-English translator of

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

.Profile 2
/ref> She was born Leila Croot in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and grew up in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. Her brother was the surgeon Sir John Croot. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, continuing her studies in Germany and China, where she spent twelve years. She is best known today for her translations of the works of

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; ; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). Bio ...

, the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

-winning German novelist. She also translated the works of

Martin Walser Martin Johannes Walser (; 24 March 1927 – 26 July 2023) was a German writer, known especially as a novelist. He began his career as journalist for ''Süddeutscher Rundfunk'', where he wrote and directed audio plays. He was a member of Group 47 ...

Uwe Johnson Uwe Johnson (; 20 July 1934 – 22 February 1984) was a German writer, editor, and scholar. Such prominent writers and scholars as Günter Grass and Hans Mayer declared Johnson to be the most significant writer to emerge from East Germany. Duri ...

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

, Nicolas Born,

Alexander Kluge Alexander Kluge (born 14 February 1932) is a German author, philosopher, academic and film director.(editor) Early life, education and early career Kluge was born in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony (now Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. After growing ...

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

Jurek Becker Jurek Becker (; – 14 March 1997) was a Polish-born German writer, screenwriter and East German dissident. His most famous novel is ''Jacob the Liar'', which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during World War II for about two y ...

Uwe Timm Uwe Timm (; born 30 March 1940 in Hamburg) is a German writer. Life and work Uwe Timm was born in 1940 in Bad Kreuznach, and was the youngest son in his family. His brother, 16 years his senior, was a soldier in the and died in Ukraine in 1943 ...

Walter Kempowski Walter Kempowski (; 29 April 1929 – 5 October 2007) was a German writer. Kempowski was known for his series of novels called ''German Chronicle'' ("Deutsche Chronik") and the monumental ''Echolot'' ("Sonar"), a collage of autobiographical rep ...

and

Alfred Andersch Alfred Hellmuth Andersch (; 4 February 1914 – 21 February 1980) was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich, Germany, and died in Berzona, Ticino, Switzerland. ...

. Her notable translations include: Heinrich Böll: *'' Billiards at Half-Past Nine'' (1962) *'' The Clown'' (1965) *''End of a Mission'' (''Ende einer Dienstfahrt'') -

Schlegel-Tieck Prize The Schlegel-Tieck Prize for German Translation is a literary translation award given by the Society of Authors in London. Translations from the German original into English are considered for the prize. The value of the prize is £3,000, while t ...

from 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 ...

, London (1968) *'' Group Portrait with Lady'' (1973) *'' The Train Was on Time'' (1973) *'' The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum'' (1975) *''

The Bread of Those Early Years The Bread of Those Early Years may refer to: * The Bread of Those Early Years (novel), a 1955 novella by Heinrich Böll * The Bread of Those Early Years (film), a 1962 West German film, based on the novel {{DEFAULTSORT:Bread of Those Early Years, ...

'' (1976) * '' And Never Said a Word'' (''Und sagte kein einziges Wort'') - Goethe House P.E.N. Prize from the American Center of P.E.N. (1979) * '' A Soldier's Legacy'' (''Das Vermächtnis'') (1981) Other: *Alexander Kluge: ''Attendance List for a Funeral'', later reprinted as ''Case Histories'' (''Lebensläufe'') (1966; 1988) *Alexander Kluge: '' The Battle'' (''Schlachtbeschreibung'') (1967) *Alfred Andersch: '' The Father of a Murderer'' (''Der Vater eines Mörders'') (1994) *Friedrich Dürrenmatt - ''Oedipus'' (1989) *Hermann Hesse: ''

Narcissus and Goldmund ''Narcissus and Goldmund'' (, ), also published in English as ''Death and the Lover'', is a novel written by the German-Swiss author Hermann Hesse which was first published in 1930. At its publication, ''Narcissus and Goldmund'' was considered ...

'' (''Narziss und Goldmund'') - shortlisted for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize (1994) *Jurek Becker: ''

Jacob the Liar ''Jacob the Liar'' is a 1969 novel written by the East Germany, East German Jewish author Jurek Becker. The German language, German original title is ''Jakob der Lügner'' (). Becker was awarded the Heinrich-Mann Prize (1971) and the Charles Veill ...

'' (''Jakob der Lügner'')- Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize (1997) * Martin Walser: ''Breakers'' (''Brandung'') - German Literary Prize from the

American Translators Association The American Translators Association (ATA) is the largest professional association of translators and interpreters in the United States with nearly 8,500 members in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1959, membership is open to anyone with ...

(1989) *Nicolas Born: ''The Deception'' (1983) *Uwe Johnson: '' Anniversaries: From the Life of Gesine Cresspahl'' (1975) (abridged translation of Volume 1 and part of Volume 2 of ''Jahrestage'') *Uwe Johnson: ''Anniversaries II'' (1987) (abridged translation of part of Volume 2 and all of Volume 3, with Walter Arndt completing Volume 4 of ''Jahrestage'') *Uwe Timm: '' The Invention of Curried Sausage'' (1995) *Walter Kempowski: ''Days of Greatness'' (1981) Vennewitz was married twice. She spent the last 50 years of her life in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada. Her posthumous papers are stored 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vennewitz, Leila 1912 births 2007 deaths English translators German–English translators Translators of Heinrich Böll Translators of Friedrich Dürrenmatt Translators of Hermann Hesse 20th-century English translators 20th-century Canadian translators Canadian women non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women writers English emigrants to Canada Canadian expatriates in England German expatriates in England 20th-century English women writers