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National Endowment for the Arts Announces Literature Translation InitiativeGreece to be first partner country May 16, 2005
Washington, D.C. - To support increased access to quality foreign literary work in translation, the National Endowment for the Arts has initiated the NEA International Literature Awards. In this inaugural year, the program will focus on Europe with a partnership between the Arts Endowment and the Embassy of Greece for the translation, publication, and distribution of two Greek titles. The NEA worked with the Embassy to develop the pilot of this initiative. The NEA grant will be matched with $10,000 from the Embassy of Greece through a partnership with the National Book Center in Athens. The grant funds can be used for translator fees, publication costs, and public outreach activities such as author translator tour or educational programs. Cliff Becker, Director of Literature for the NEA said, "Translation is the medium through which American readers gain greater access to the world. By providing us with as direct a connection as possible to the individual voice of the author, translation provides a window into the heart of a culture. The National Endowment for the Arts looks forward to working with the Greek government to ensure that American readers have the opportunity to hear some of the voices of contemporary Greece." The NEA has awarded translation fellowships since 1981, distributing 232 grants totaling $3,049,250. Among those fellowship recipients are Edmund Keeley for his translation of poems by Yannis Ritsos (1988), Karen Van Dyck for her translation of poems by contemporary Greek women (1996), and Peter Constantine's translation of the short fiction of Alexandros Papadiamantis (2004). The NEA also supports literature in translation in grants to literary presses through other NEA grant categories. The deadline for receipt of applications is 5:30 pm EST, June 15, 2005. For application materials and guidelines, please go to the Arts Endowment Web site http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/InternationalLiterature.html or contact Amy Stolls, Literature Specialist at 202-682-5771. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts - both new and established - bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, visit the agency’s Web site at www.arts.gov
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency |
