From the Chairman

The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to bringing the best of the arts to all Americans. Our grants range from supporting new presentations of theatrical classics and contemporary art to providing arts workshops in schools -- across all fifty states in communities large and small.

Reading the best of world literature in translation is one of the essential ways for Americans to understand the culture and traditions of other nations. In the words of Miguel de Cervantes, translation is the other side of the tapestry. Whether it is as familiar to us as our own family or as foreign as an ancient civilization, translation transports us into the lives of others while providing a deeper understanding of our own heritage.

In recognition of the importance of translation, the Arts Endowment has revised its Literature Translation Fellowships guidelines in three significant ways this year. First, the grant awards have been increased to $25,000 and $12,500. Second, the total number of NEA Fellowships that one can receive in translation has been increased to three. Third, the period that a Translation Fellow must wait before being eligible to reapply has been reduced from ten to five years. Each of these changes was made to offer new opportunities to individual translators and to strengthen the field of literary translation as a whole.

Through outstanding programs such as the Literature Translation Fellowships for prose, poetry, and drama, the Arts Endowment continues its legacy of supporting excellence in the arts for all Americans.

Dana Gioia
Chairman

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506