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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 MAY 2019 5 THIS WEEK LITERATURE involved with this project, and what made you think that the book would resonate among Norwegian audiences? From a young age I have read and en- joyed Trevor Zahra's work. It was crucial for me as someone living with one foot in each country all my life that I kept reading my second language as much as possible. It was quite natural for me to choose to start by publishing a work by Trevor Zahra. It was my mother who gave me the idea about starting out with Il-Ħajja Sigrieta tan-Nanna Ġenoveffa, and I immediately thought that this would be a perfect way to introduce Mal- tese literature and Maltese culture. My advantage, after having worked in publishing for so many years, is, of course, that I know the Norwegian au- dience well, and by being as active as I can in the Maltese book sphere, I have a pretty good overview of modern Maltese literature. My professional relationship with both Trevor Zahra and his publish- er Chris Grupetta has been eminent and present the whole time. The story about a woman that could have been any of our grandmothers and that gives a clear and easy introduction to Maltese history and village life, includ- ing cooking and family life, was just what Norwegian readers wanted. I don't think publishing a Maltese classic or poetry collection would have gained the same interest. The work on the publication of Nanna Genoveffas hemmelige liv, the Norwe- gian version of Il-Ħajja Sigrieta tan-Nan- na Ġenoveffa, has been exemplary. The book was published by one of Nor- way's most esteemed publishing houses for translations, Solum/Bokvennen, and received every support possible; first the full translation grant from the Norwe- gian Art Council, that ensured my hav- ing the time and capacity to take time off from my full time work as a publisher to do this, then the distribution grant, en- suring the book in hardcover distributed to 500 libraries across Norway, then the good reviews. Finishing off this 'pilot project' with Trevor Zahra at a Norwegian Literature festival and with extracts of the Norwe- gian version being read out loud by one of Norway's most famous audio book nar- rators was a good wrap-up after having worked on this project for many years. What was it like to translate from Maltese to Norwegian, and what were some of the most important elements (linguistic, cultural etc) that you felt you had to be particularly mindful of? Translating is about moving text from one place to another, from one circle of readers to another and from one culture to another. Often in translation, the most important element is first about finding the right 'voice'. I wanted to make sure the voice and the language of a woman from a small village in Malta sounded like a woman in Norway would have done in 1920-60s. This is what took most time at the beginning and also where I have my strength in being half Maltese and half Norwegian. I had some good conversa- tions with my own Maltese nanna, with my mother who knows the Maltese lan- guage well, and other colleagues both in Malta and Norway. It was important to me that the Norwegian reader would feel that he or she were in Malta at that time but also recognised the language that would have been spoken in Norway. I had the advantage that I come from a small village in Malta not far from where Genoveffa was supposed to hail, so I knew the smells, the spices, the sounds, the bakery. I know what a kitchen full of Maltese women looks and sounds like. I can smell the Band Club where my nannu used to go. I think these things turned out to be very important. My col- laboration with Trevor Zahra was close and we have talked a lot during the time I was working on the translation. Funny discussions about Maltese proverbs that are quite untranslatable, and emails about tempo and tones, and meeting up, as we live near each other in Marsascala. Although Zahra cannot read the Norwe- gian version, he says that he feels secure we managed to keep the Maltese feel to it all the way. A Norwegian translator told me reading Nanna Genoveffa was like reading a Maltese version of the Neapoli- tan Elena Ferrante, and in Norway that is about as good a compliment as you can get. Also, in Translating the short stories by Pierre Mejlak I have worked very closely with the author. It has also been very interesting to discuss certain choices with Mejlak's translators to other languages. We do not always agree. In Norway we have a tradition of be- ing extremely close to the original text when translating. Being very aware that 'I' am supposed to be an invisible hand in the text, and that a reader should never feel that this is translated, I do not explain or adapt the text to a Norwegian reader. If the character eats pastizzi, I call it pastizzi, writing cheesecake would confuse the reader, and in my opinion not be correct. Of course, one becomes very conscious of a language when translating. Details I have not thought about during my life such as just read- ing and knowing Maltese. Translating swearing is almost impossible. No one in Norway would use the swear words we use in Malta. I remember translating something where an elderly person was swearing in Maltese and in Norwegian it sounded like a parody. I changed it to 'pokker' with is close to 'damn it'. Also, all religious and political references are much more present in the Maltese language than in Norwegian. It's chal- lenging to transform that into plausible Norwegian, but that is what makes it so interesting. I am translating Walid Nabhan's nov- el L-Eżodu taċ-Ċikonji right now, and sometimes I can chew on a sentence for half a day. The trouble of translating be- tween the lines is very present here. Also, I am in the process of translat- ing the children's book Il-Qtates ta' max-Xatt by Clare Azzopardi, with the beautiful illustrations by Lisa Falzon, and it being a children's book where rhyme and colours and the name of cats are im- portant does not make it any easier. It has become something of a mantra to speak of literary publishing in doom and gloom language, and perhaps this is amplified when it comes to minority language literature, such as, of course, Maltese. Do you believe that translation can offer tangible opportunities for expansion in this regard? Yes, when I think about other languages spoken by few, like Icelandic, Finish, and also Norwegian, I am sure that our ex- port of literature is good for our national literature. I think the work being done now in translating some of Malta's grand national literature is important. I also think the process of making the Maltese publishing industry more formalised and making sure the terms for the artists are as good as they can be, are good, both for producing new literature and for export- ing existing works. What would be the next step in taking Maltese literature to a wider international audience? It needs to start at home, in Malta, with a close relationship between the author and the publisher. My initial thoughts are twofold. My understanding is that Maltese writers produce more short sto- ries, poetry and also shorter novels than we are used to in the Nordic countries. Short stories and poetry is very difficult to sell even for Norwegian authors, and if they are translated it is almost impos- sible. We need more of the good, long, well written, well edited, Maltese nov- els, maybe even something for the mass market, to start awareness of Maltese literature. The flavours, the smell, the bakery, the village life, the sea. Scandina- vian readers don't want to read narrow literature about Maltese politics, or po- ems. They want to fall in love with the Maltese islands and the smell of honey and cooked rabbit and wine from Gozo. Call me cynical but I know what sells, and translated poetry does not sell well in Norway. And that brings me to the next thought: A writer needs money (and a room of their own) if they are to write fiction. This still applies for all of us. I admire and fully support the steps be- ing taken over the last years that have been pushing for new structures, funds, festivals getting larger and more vis- ited every year, the immense work The National Book Council of Malta has done on promoting Maltese literature abroad, the steps some publishers have taken to ensure writers rights and all the work the different organisations like HELA has started. The importance of professionality and solidarity between the different sectors of the industry can- not be stressed enough. Malta still has a long way to go before it is anywhere near Norway when it comes to stand- ardised contracts, associations, editors and literary agents, but something has definitely changed in Malta over the last 3-4 years, and it is highly welcomed. And I do believe that this can have an impact on the export of Maltese litera- ture. I want to underline that, had my first meeting with ensuring the rights for a Maltese book been with a pub- lisher that did not have a very good and professional relationship with, and huge respect for, their authors, then it simply would not have happened. Left: Genoveffa in Norwegian: The Norwegian version of Trevor Zahra's novel Il-Hajja Sigrieta tan-Nanna Genoveffa, translated by Kristina Quintano (above) From left: Kristina Quintano, Trevor Zahra and National Book Council Chairman Mark Camilleri in Oslo during the Translated Days festival last month