Suzanne Jill Levine is an American writer, poet, literary translator and scholar.Bio of Suzanne Jill Levine
/ref> Levine was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she studied piano at

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

and went to Music & Art High School. She earned an AB at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in 1967, an MA at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1969,Suzanne Jill Levine, poet
/ref> and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1977. A scholar of

Latin American literature Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of Latin America. Latin American literature rose to particular pro ...

, her books include one of the first studies of

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...

's ''

One Hundred Years of Solitude ''One Hundred Years of Solitude'' (, ) is a 1967 in literature, 1967 novel by Colombian people, Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez that tells the Family saga, multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio ...

'' and

Adolfo Bioy Casares Adolfo Bioy Casares (; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman Jorge Luis Borges. He is the author of the Fa ...

, both published in Spanish. She is also a leading specialist in

Translation Studies Translation studies is an academic interdiscipline dealing with the systematic study of the theory, description and application of translation, interpreting, and localization. As an interdiscipline, translation studies borrows much from the vari ...

and

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

. Her 1991 book, ''The Subversive Scribe,'' was influential on the development of translation theory in the United States and elsewhere. She has written two poetry chapbooks and hundreds of essays in major anthologies and journals. She is a translator of a range of writers including

Silvina Ocampo Silvina Ocampo (28 July 1903 – 14 December 1993) was an Argentine short story writer, poet, and artist. Ocampo's friend and collaborator Jorge Luis Borges called Ocampo "one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language, whether on this side o ...

Clarice Lispector Clarice Lispector (, born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector (; ) December 10, 1920December 9, 1977) was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her distinctive and innovative works delve into diverse narrative forms, weaving them ...

Cecilia Vicuña Cecilia Vicuña (born 1948) is a Chilean poet and artist based in New York and Santiago, Chile. Her work is noted for themes of language, memory, dissolution, extinction and exile. Critics also note the relevance of her work to the politics of e ...

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

Manuel Puig Juan Manuel Puig Delledonne (December 28, 1932 – July 22, 1990), commonly called Manuel Puig, was an Argentine author. Among his best-known novels are '' La traición de Rita Hayworth'' ('' Betrayed by Rita Hayworth'', 1968), ''Boquitas pin ...

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), '' The Old Gringo'' (1985) and '' Christop ...

José Donoso José Manuel Donoso Yáñez (5 October 1924 – 7 December 1996), known as José Donoso, was a Chilean writer, journalist and professor. He lived most of his life in Chile, although he spent many years in self-imposed exile in Mexico, the Unite ...

Julio Cortázar Julio Florencio Cortázar (26 August 1914 – 12 February 1984; ) was an Argentine and naturalised French novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and translator. Known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, Cortázar influenc ...

and

Guillermo Cabrera Infante Guillermo Cabrera Infante (; Gibara, 22 April 1929 – 21 February 2005) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, translator, screenwriter, and critic; in the 1950s he used the pseudonym G. Caín, and used Guillermo Cain for the screenplay of the ...

. Levine is an honorary member of

IAPTI The International Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters (IAPTI) is an international professional association of translators and interpreters based in Argentina. History Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, IAPTI was established on ...

. She has been recipient of numerous grants and awards from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) and for the Humanities (NEH).

Awards (selection)

* PEN/Ralph Manheim Award for Translation for Career Commitment to Excellence * PEN Center USA's Translation Award 2012PEN Center USA's Translation Award
/ref> * John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship 1997 * PEN American Gregory Kolovakis Award in Hispanic Letters 1996 * Rockefeller Fellow, Villa Serbelloni Residency, Lake Como 1998

Selected bibliography

Books

* ''El espejo hablado: un estudio de

Cien años de soledad ''One Hundred Years of Solitude'' (, ) is a 1967 novel by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez that tells the multi-generational story of the Buendía family, whose patriarch, José Arcadio Buendía, founded the fictitious town of Macondo ...

'' (1975) * ''Guia de

'' (1982) * ''

and the Spider Woman: His Life and Fictions'' (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2001; Faber & Faber, 2000; University of Wisconsin, 2001). * ''The Subversive Scribe: Translating Latin American Fiction'' (Graywolf Press, 1991; Dalkey Archive, 2009). * ''Unfaithful: A Translator's Memoir'' (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025: )

Poems

* ''Reckoning'' (Finishing Line, 2012)

Translations

* ''Betrayed by Rita Hayworth'', by

(Dutton, 1971; Avon Books; Random House; Dalkey Archive, 2009). * ''

Three Trapped Tigers Three Trapped Tigers were a British instrumental experimental rock trio from London, England, composed of keyboardist and vocalist Tom Rogerson, drummer Adam Betts, and guitarist Matt Calvert. Formed in 2007, they released three EPs and two st ...

,'' by

(trans. with Donald Gardner) (Harper & Row, 1971; Avon Books, 1985, Faber & Faber, 1990). * ''Triple Cross'', a volume of three novellas: ''Hell Has No Limits'', by

; ''Holy Place'', by

; ''From Cuba with a Song,'' by

Severo Sarduy Severo Sarduy (February 25, 1937 – June 8, 1993) was a Cuban poet, author, playwright, and critic of Cuban literature and art. Some of his works deal explicitly with male homosexuality and transvestism. Biography Born in a working-class family ...

(1972). * ''All Fires the Fire'', short stories by

(1973; Pantheon, 1988). * ''Heartbreak Tango,'' by Manuel Puig (Dutton, 1973; Random House; Dalkey Archive, 2010). * ''A Plan for Escape'', by

(Dutton, 1975; Graywolf Press, 1988). * ''Cobra,'' by Severo Sarduy (Dutton, 1975; reissued by Dalkey Press, May 2025, ) * ''The Buenos Aires Affair,'' by Manuel Puig (Dutton, 1976; Random House, 1980; Faber & Faber, 1989; Dalkey Archive, 2010). * ''Asleep in the Sun'', by Adolfo Bioy Casares (Persea Books, 1978; Dutton, 1989). * ''View of Dawn in the Tropics,'' by Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Harper & Row, 1978). * ''A House in the Country'', by José Donoso (trans. with David Pritchard) (Alfred A. Knopf, 1984; Random House, 1985). * ''Infante’s Inferno'', by Guillermo Cabrera Infante (Harper & Row, 1984; Avon Books; Faber & Faber, 1987). * ''Maitreya,'' by Severo Sarduy (Ediciones del Norte, 1987). * ''Adventures of a Photographer in La Plata,'' by Adolfo Bioy Casares (Dutton, 1989; Penguin; Bloomsbury). * ''Larva'', by

Julián Ríos Julián Ríos (born 11 March 1941, in Vigo, Galicia) is a Spanish writer, most frequently classified as a postmodernist, whom Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes has called "the most inventive and creative" of Spanish-language writers. His first two ...

(trans. with Richard Alan Francis) (Dalkey Archive, 1990). * ''Tropical Night Falling'', by Manuel Puig (Simon & Schuster, 1991; Faber & Faber, 1992). * ''Unravelling Words & the Weaving of Water'', by

(trans. with

Eliot Weinberger Eliot Weinberger (born 6 February 1949 in New York City) is an American writer, essayist, editor, and translator. He is primarily known for his essays and political articles, the former characterized by their wide-ranging subjects and experimental ...

) (Graywolf Press, 1991). * ''A Russian Doll and Other Stories'', by Adolfo Bioy Casares (New Directions, 1992). * ''The Selected Stories of Adolfo Bioy Casares'' (New Directions, 1994). * ''Christ on the Rue Jacob'', by Severo Sarduy (trans. with Carol Maier) (Mercury House, 1995). * ''Selected Non-Fictions'' ''by

'' (edited by Eliot Weinberger; trans. with Esther Allen and Eliot Weinberger) (Viking, 1999). * ''Beach Birds'', by Severo Sarduy, (trans. with Carol Maier) (Otis Books/Seismicity Editions, 2007). *''The Lizard's Tale'', by José Donoso (2011). *''Mundo Cruel: Stories'', by

Luis Negrón Luis Negrón (born 1970 in Guayama, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican writer. Negrón originally studied journalism, which he said taught him how to write and gave him confidence. He lives in Santurce, a barrio in San Juan, and works in a booksto ...

(2013). *''Where There’s Love, There’s Hate'', by

(trans. with Jessica Powell) (Melville House, 2013). * ''The Taiga Syndrome'', by

Cristina Rivera Garza Cristina Rivera Garza (born October 1, 1964) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Mexican author and professor known for her fiction and memoir. Multiple novels, including ''Nadie me verá llorar'' (''No One Will See Me Cry''), received Mexico’s highest ...

(trans. with Aviva Kana) (Dorothy Project, 2018). * ''The Promise'', by Silvina Ocampo (trans. with Jessica Powell) (City Lights, 2019). *''Forgotten Journey'', by Silvina Ocampo (trans. with Katie Lateef-Jan) (City Lights, 2019). * ''Bezoar and Other Unsettling Stories'', by Guadalupe Nettel (Seven Stories Press, 2020).

References

External links

Website of Suzanne Jill Levine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Suzanne Jill 1946 births Living people Vassar College alumni Columbia University alumni New York University alumni University of California, Santa Barbara faculty American translation scholars American translators Spanish–English translators American literary critics American women literary critics American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American women