Peter R. Bush (born 1946) is an English literary translator. He has translated works from Catalan, French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Portuguese to English, including the work of

Josep Pla Josep Pla i Casadevall (; 8 March 1897 – 23 April 1981) was a Spanish journalist and a popular author. As a journalist he worked in France, Italy, Britain, Germany, and the Soviet Union, from where he wrote political and cultural chronicles i ...

, Joan Sales, Mercè Rodoreda,

Fernando de Rojas Fernando de Rojas (c. 1465/73, in La Puebla de Montalbán, Toledo, Spain – April 1541, in Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Spain) was a Spanish author and dramatist, known for his only surviving work, '' La Celestina'' (originally titled ''Trag ...

Juan Goytisolo Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017. He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...

and

Juan Carlos Onetti Juan Carlos Onetti Borges (July 1, 1909 – May 30, 1994) was a Uruguayan novelist and author of short stories. Early life Onetti was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was the son of Carlos Onetti, a customs official, and Honoria Borges, who be ...

Life and career

Peter Bush was born in

Spalding, Lincolnshire Spalding () is a market town on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. The main town had a population of 30,556 at the 2021 census. The town is the administrative centre of the South Holland District. The t ...

.Peter Bush – Words Without Borders
/ref> His father, from a large rural working-class family, was a print worker and trade unionist; his mother grew up in an urban working-class family in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

.Carol Maier
An Interview With Peter Bush
''Translation Review'' Vol. 53. He studied French and Spanish at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

before gaining a DPhil in Spanish history and fiction from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Though Bush translated various Marxist economic and political analyses between 1967 and 1972, since then he has only translated literary texts. He has spoken of the crucial importance in his life of translating

: Bush has been active not only as a literary translator, but also in developing literary translation as an academic discipline – by working in the academic world; serving in key literary translation organisations; serving on the editorial boards of literary translation publications; and organising international events and projects. After teaching in London schools he joined

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

where he was Associate Senior Lecturer in Spanish (1993–1995), Reader in Literary Translation (1995–1997) and Professor of Literary Translation (1997–1998). He then moved to the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, where he was Director of the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) (1998–2003), and Professor of Literary Translation at the School of English and American Studies.Peter Bush to Discuss Translation of Spanish Classic
/ref> He has been a visiting professor at University of São Paulo (1996), Boston University (1996, 1999) and Beijing University (2001). Bush has held key positions in important literary translation organisations: Literary Translation Committee (Chair); International Translators Federation (Vice-President, 1996–2003);

American Literary Translators Association The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is an organization in the United States dedicated to literary translation. ALTA promotes literary translation through its annual ALTA conference and year-round events structured around the creatio ...

(board of directors, 1999–2002); Committee for Literary Translation in Higher Education (Convenor, 1993–1999); ''In Other Words'' (Executive Committee, Founder and editor, 1995–2003); The European Network of Literary Translation Centres (RECIT) (2000–2003). Bush has also served on several editorial boards: ''Mediterraneans, a journal of literature, culture and politics'' (Paris), published by The Mediterranean Study Group (since 1993); Middlesex University Press (1996–2001); ''The Encyclopaedia of Literary Translation'', Fitzroy Dearbourne (1997–2000); ''Pretexts, Pen & Ink'', University of East Anglia (2002–2004); ''The Massachusetts Review'' (since 2014).

Awards and honours

* 2015 Awarded the La Creu de Sant Jordi, most distinguished award given by the Generalitat of Catalonia, for the translation and promotion of Catalan literature * 2015 His translation of '' The Gray Notebook'' by

was shortlisted for the 2015 PEN USA Translated Fiction Award * 2014 Awarded the Premi Ramon Llull for Literary Translation from Catalan, for his translation of ''The Gray Notebook'' by

* 2014 His translation of ''The Sound of One Hand Killing'' by Teresa Solana was shortlisted for the 2014 Goldboro Last Laugh Award * 2014 His translation of ''Run or Die'' by Kilian Jornet was shortlisted for the 2014

William Hill Sports Book of the Year The William Hill Sports Book of the Year is an annual British sports writing award sponsored by bookmaker William Hill. It was first presented in 1989, and was conceived by Graham Sharpe of William Hill, and John Gaustad, founder of the Sport ...

* 2014 His translation of '' Uncertain Glory'' by Joan Sales was named one of the Ten Best Works of Fiction for 2014 by

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

magazine. * 2012 Awarded the 2012 Premio Valle-Inclán for his translation of ''Exiled from Almost Everywhere'' by

* 2012 His translation of ''Still Life No.41'' by Teresa Solana was short-listed for an

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

by the American Association of Crime Writers * 2011 Received the Cruz de Oficial, Orden del Mérito Civil, awarded by

King Juan Carlos King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

of Spain, for contribution to the creation of cultural dialogue between UK and Spain * 2009 Awarded the Calouste Gulbenkian Portuguese Translation Prize for his translation of ''Equator'' by Miguel Sousa Tavares. * 1997 Awarded the Premio Valle-Inclán for his translation of ''The Marx Family Saga'' by

* 1994 Received the Outstanding Translation Award from the

for his translation of ''The Old Man Who Read Love Stories'' by Luis Sepúlveda

Works

Translations

;From Catalan * Joan Cases: ''Naked – Black Beach Catalan Drama'' (Parthian Press, 2009). *

Najat El Hachmi Najat El Hachmi (born July 2, 1979) is a Moroccan-Spanish writer based in Catalonia. She holds a degree in Arabic Studies from the University of Barcelona. She is the author of a personal essay on her bicultural identity, and three previous novels ...

: ''The Last Patriarch'' (Serpent's Tail, 2010). * Najat El Hachmi: ''The Body Hunter'' (Serpent's Tail, 2013) * Kilian Jornet: ''Run or Die'' (Velo Books, 2013) * Empar Moliner: ''I Love You When I'm Drunk'' (Comma Productions, 2008). * Quim Monzó: ''The Enormity of the Tragedy'' (Peter Owen Ltd, 2008). * Quim Monzó: ''Guadalajara'' (Open Letter, 2011). * Quim Monzó: ''A Thousand Morons'' (Open Letter, 2012). * Quim Monzó: ''Why, why, why?'' (Open Letter, 2019). *

: '' Life Embitters'' (Archipelago, 2014) * Josep Pla: '' The Gray Notebook'' (NYRB, 2014) * Josep Pla: ''Salt Water'' (Archipelago Books, 2020) * Jordi Puntí: ''Messi: Lessons in Style'' (Short Books, 2019) * Mercè Rodoreda: ''In Diamond Square'' (Virago, 2013) * Joan Sales: '' Uncertain glory'' (MacLehose Press, London, 2014). * Joan Sales: '' Winds of the Night'' (MacLehose Press) *

Francesc Serés Francesc Serés Guillén (born Zaidín, Spain, December 22, 1972) is a Catalan-language writer. He obtained a Fine Arts degree (1996) and another in Anthropology (1998) from the University of Barcelona and, in 2001, the title of Research Aptitude ...

: ''Russian Stories'' (MacLehose PRess) * Teresa Solana: ''A Shortcut to Paradise'' * Teresa Solana: ''A not so perfect crime'' (Bitter Lemon Press, London, 2008) * Teresa Solana: ''The Sound of One Hand Killing'' (Bitter Lemon, 2013) * Emili Teixidor: ''

Black Bread Rye bread is a type of bread made with various proportions of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat ...

'' (Biblioasis, 2016) ;From French *

Alain Badiou Alain Badiou (; ; born 17 January 1937) is a French philosopher, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École normale supérieure (ENS) and founder of the faculty of Philosophy of the Université de Paris VIII with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault ...

: ''In Praise of Love'' (Serpent's Tail, 2012; The New Press, USA) * Monica Waitzfelder: ''L'Oreal Took My Home, The secrets of a theft'' (Arcadia, 2006). ;From Spanish *

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and author. His films are distinguished by Melodrama (film genre), melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular c ...

: ''The flower of my secret'' (Faber and Faber, London and Boston, 1996). * Nuria Amat:''Queen Cocaine'' (City Lights Books, San Francisco, 2005). * Jorge Carrión: ''Bookshops'' (The MacLehose Press, 2016). * Daniel Chavarria: ''Tango for a Torturer'' (Serpent's Tail, 2006). *

Pedro Antonio de Alarcón Pedro Antonio de Alarcón y Ariza (10 March 183319 July 1891) was a nineteenth-century Spanish novelist, known best for his novel '' El sombrero de tres picos'' (1874), an adaptation of popular traditions which provides a description of villag ...

: ''The Three-Cornered Hat'' (Hesperus Press, 2004). *

: '' Celestina'' (Dedalus Books, 2009). * Orlando Gonzalez Esteva: ''Enigma, Old Friend / The Drawings of Juan Soriano'' (Ave del Paraiso, Madrid, 2000), tr with Anne McLean. *

: ''Quarantine'' (1994). * Juan Goytisolo: ''The Marx family saga'' (City Lights Books, San Francisco, 1999). * Juan Goytisolo: ''The garden of secrets'' (Serpent's Tail, London, 2000). * Juan Goytisolo: ''Realms of Strife'' (Quartet/North Point Press; 2nd ed. Verso, 2000). * Juan Goytisolo: ''Landscapes of war: from Sarajevo to Chechnya'' (City Lights Books, San Francisco, 2000). * Juan Goytisolo: ''Forbidden territory (Quartet/North Point Press; 2nd ed. Verso, 2000). * Juan Goytisolo: ''The Blind Rider'' (Serpent's Tail, 2005). * Juan Goytisolo: ''Cinema Eden Essays on the Muslim Mediterranean'' (Sickle Moon Press, 2005). * Juan Goytisolo: ''A cock-eyed comedy: starring friar Bugeo Montesino and other fairies of motley feather and fortune'' (City Lights Books, San Francisco, 2005). * Juan Goytisolo: '' Juan the Landless'' (Dalkey Archive Press, Champaign, IL, 2009). * Juan Goytisolo: ''Níjar Country'' (Lumen Books, Santa Fe, NM, 2010). * Juan Goytisolo: '' Exiled from Almost Everywhere'' (Dalkey Archive Press, 2011).Review
by

Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine Canadian, Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former director of the National Library of Argentina. He is a cosmopolitan and polyglo ...

, ''The Guardian'', 14 May 2011
Review
by Annabella Massey, ''Cadaverine Magazine'' *

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

: ''Sketches of Spain: Impressions and Landscapes'' (Serif, 2013). *

Antonio Muñoz Molina Antonio Muñoz Molina (born 10 January 1956) is a Spanish writer and, since 8 June 1995, a full member of the Royal Spanish Academy. He received the 1991 Premio Planeta, the 2013 Jerusalem Prize, and the 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for lite ...

: ''The Prince of Darkness'' (Quartet, 1993). *

: ''The Pit and Tonight'' (1991). * Juan Carlos Onetti: ''Farewells and a Grave with No Name'' (1992). * Juan Carlos Onetti: ''No Man's Land'' (1994). * Juan Carlos Onetti: ''Past Caring?'' (London, 1995). * Adolfo Garcia Ortega: ''Desolation Island'' (Secker Harvill, 2011). * Adolfo Garcia Ortega: ''The Birthday Buyer'' (Hispabooks, 2013). *

Ignacio Padilla Ignacio Padilla (November 7, 1968 – August 20, 2016) was a Mexican writer whose works were translated into several languages. Padilla helped found the Crack Movement, along with fellow writers Eloy Urroz, Jorge Volpi, and Pedro Angel P ...

: ''Shadow without a name'', tr. with Anne McLean (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2003). * Leonardo Padura: ''Havanna Black'' (Bitter Lemon, 2006). * Leonardo Padura: ''Havana Blue'' (Bitter Lemon Press, London, 2007). * Leonardo Padura: ''Havana Gold'' (Bitter Lemon, 2008). * Leonardo Padura: ''Havana Fever'' (Bitter Lemon, 2009). * Senel Paz: ''Strawberry & chocolate'' (Bloomsbury, London, 1995). * Fernando Royuela: ''A Bad End'' (Hispabooks). * Luis Sepúlveda: ''The old man who read love stories'' (Harcourt Brace, New York, 1994). *

Narcís Serra Narcís Serra i Serra (born 30 May 1943) is a Spanish economist and politician, serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain from 1991 to 1995. Born in Barcelona in 1943, he was one of the leading figures of Catalan socialism during the Spanish tr ...

: ''The Military Transition'' (Cambridge University Press, 2010). *

Ramón del Valle-Inclán Ramón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña (born in Vilanova de Arousa, Galicia, Spain, on October 28, 1866, and died in Santiago de Compostela on January 5, 1936) was a Spanish dramatist, novelist, and member of the Spanish Generation o ...

: ''Tyrant Banderas'' (NYRB, 2012). * (ed.) ''The voice of the turtle : an anthology of Cuban stories'' (Quartet Books, London, 1997). * (ed. with Lisa Dillman) ''Spain'' (Whereabouts Press, Berkeley, CA, 2003). Anthology of translated Spanish literature in the Travelers' literary companion series. ;From Portuguese *

Chico Buarque Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, econom ...

: ''Turbulence'' (Bloomsbury/Pantheon, 1992). * Miguel Sousa Tavares: ''Equator'' (Bloomsbury, 2008).

Writings about Translation

* ''Rimbaud's Rainbow: literary translation in higher education'', ed. with Kirsten Malkkjaer (J. Benjamins, Amsterdam and Philadelphia, 1998). * ''The Translator as Writer'', ed. with Susan Bassnett (Continuum, 2006). * 'Memory, War and Translation: Mercè Rodoreda's ''In Diamond Square'', in Brian Nelson and Brigid Maher (eds) ''Perspectives on Literature and Translation Creation, Circulation, Reception'' (Routledge, 2013) Chapter 2, pp. 31–46. * ‘Toil, trouble and jouissance : a case study – editing Juan the Landless’, in Rita Wilson and Leah Gerber (eds) ''Creative Constraints Translation and Authorship'' (Monash University Publishing, Melbourne) Chapter 8, pp. 119–131. * 'The Centrality of a Translator’s Culture: Fernando de Rojas’s Celestina and the Creation of Style in Translation', ''The AALITRA Review: A Journal of Literary Translation'', No.2, 2009 (Melbourne: Monash University), pp. 21–36. * ‘Writing Translations’, in Susan Bassnett and Peter Bush (eds), ''The Translator as Writer'', Continuum, 2005. * ‘Intertextuality and the Translator as Story Teller’, Traduire l’intertextualité, ''Palimpsestes'' 18, 2005, pp. 213–229. * ‘The Political Interventions of a Literary Translator: the case of Strawberry and Chocolate’, ''Traduire'' (SFT), 2005. * ‘The Act of Translation’, Translations Studies Working Papers (UMIST), 2002. * ‘Reviewing Translations: Barcelona, London and Paris’, Entretext, University of Brunel, 2000. * ‘Latin American fiction in translation’, in Peter France (ed), ''Encyclopedia of Literature in English Translation'', OUP, 2000. * ‘On Translating Lawrence Norfolk, Or Dialecting the Dialectics of Name’, ''The Barcelona Review'', 20, September 2000. * ‘Translating Onetti for Anglo-Saxon Others’, in Gustavo San Román (ed), ''Juan Carlos Onetti and others'', SUNY, 1999. * ‘The Translator as Arbiter’, in Pilar Orerro and Juan Sager (eds) ''The Translator’s Dialogue: Giovanni Pontiero'', John Benjamin (Amsterdam and Philadelphia, 1996) * ‘The Translator as Reader and Writer’, ''Donaire'', 8, 1996, pp. 20–26. * ‘It doesn’t sound like English’, ''Times Literary Supplement'', no. 4875, 1996, p. 11.

Projects, conferences, seminars developing the field of literary translation

* 2010 FIT Symposium ‘Jean Genet, Translation and Censorship’, Salle Roger Blin, Théâtre de l’Odéon, Paris. * 2009 Salzburg Global Seminar ‘Traduttore Traditore? Recognizing and Promoting the Critical Role of Translation in Global Culture.’ * 2006 FIT Symposium ‘Translating Harry Potter: The Art and the Economics’, UNESCO, Paris. * 2002 ‘Territories of Life and Writing: autobiography and fiction in the work of Juan Goytisolo’, University of East Anglia. * 2002 BCLT Third International Literary Translation Summer School, Cambridge. * 2001 FIT International Seminar on Literary Translation and research, University of East Anglia (UEA). * 2001 BCLT Second International Literary Translation Summer School, Cambridge. * 2000 ‘Translation, Knowledges and Cultures’ symposium, jointly with the British Academy, London. * 2000 BCLT First International Literary Translation Summer School, UEA. * 2000 Young Writers and Translators seminar, Tarazona, Spain. * 1999 Hispanic & English Literatures in Professional Partnership: Strategies for Translation – two seminars organised with the Spanish Translator’s Centre for the British Council, UEA and Valencia UIMP. * 1999 BCLT Symposium on Literary Translation and Gender, UEA. * 1999 ITI Symposium on the EC Culture 2000 Framework, UEA. * 1999 New translation of Don Quijote, organised with TRIO, Oxford University * 1998 Co-organiser, ITI International Colloquium, ‘Translating and Community’, Sheffield University. * 1998 Project Leader European Community Second ARIANE network ‘The Translator as Reader and Writer’ with the following seminars: ‘Translation in Eastern Europe’, Prague; ‘Translating Poetry’, Amsterdam; ‘Theatre in Translation’, Brussels; ‘Libraries and Literary translation’, Finedon * 1997 Project leader European Community First ARIANE with the following seminars: ‘Translation and Power’, Frankfurt Book Fair; ‘Literary translation in the Bilingual Context’, Barcelona; ‘Research, Publishing and Literary Translation’, Middlesex University. * 1997 ‘The Politics of Translation’ (India, Africa and the USA), International Centre, Frankfurt Bookfair. * 1996 Co-organiser of three-day ITI International Colloquium, The Practices of Literary Translation, University of East Anglia. * 1996 Co-organiser with the Director of the Cervantes Institute, International Conference, Literary Translation: To and From the Languages of Spain, Middlesex University. * 1995 Co-organiser, Conference on the Translation of Philosophy, Middlesex University. * 1995 Co-organiser of the three-day ITI International Colloquium, Warwick University on Literary Translation in Higher Education.

References

External links

Peter Bush's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Peter 1946 births Living people English translators Literary translators Catalan–English translators French–English translators Portuguese–English translators Spanish–English translators Academics of the University of East Anglia English male non-fiction writers