Young Writers Committee

September saw the launch of Sydney PEN's latest initiative, the Young Writers Committee. Established to support and encourage young and aspiring writers, this group has big plans for the future. Katja Gaskell talks to the newly-appointed Chair, Jeff Errington, to find out what they are.

"The aim is to build a solid group of keen people who are interested in writers' freedoms and writing," explains Jeff. "Writing is such a solitary pursuit so it's good to have a forum rather than randomly meeting to talk shop together."

Jeff should know. Aged 25 he is accustomed to working by himself having already written a handful of short stories and a novel. Not surprisingly, he's excited about the opportunities that the committee can bring.

"There are forums for young writers in Melbourne but not Sydney," explains Jeff. "We hope to slowly build events and readings, and it would be great if we could get some publications happening although that comes down to finances."

"We'll recruit, brainstorm and then see what happens," he adds.

Jeff also hopes that the committee will collate information on relevant competitions, publishing outlets and magazines thereby establishing a support network for young writers.

"All the information is pretty disparate at the moment," he explains.

And in the long term, the committee could prove to be a powerful way to promote works by young Australians.

But first they need members.

"We've got the National Young Writers Festival coming up and we hope to get lots of people signed up then," says Jeff. "And after that we'll recruit at grass roots level and try to get it to snowball."

The Young Writers Festival, which is taking place as part of the This Is Not Art festival in Newcastle from 28 September to 2 October will feature a session presented by Sydney PEN and Jeff hopes that the audience will want to sign up to the young writers committee.

"Hopefully the committee will give writers direction," says Jeff. "And also a sense of fraternity with other writers. Orhan Pamuk in a PEN address on the freedom to write said 'when another writer in another house is not free, no writer is free'."

For more information on the Young Writers Committee email sydney@pen.org.au.

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Lost in Translation...

Following on from the interview with Chip Rolley of the Sydney PEN Translation Committee, here are a couple of interesting articles on the dangers of not translating foreign literary works into English. The first article, Lost in Translation: The Narrowing of the American Mind by KA Dilday is an in depth look at the importance of understanding cultures through literary works. The second article, The Insularity of English by Stephen Henighan, examines the relationship between literary translation and the prevailing political climate. Both are well worth a read.

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Translation and Globalisation : A report for the UN

In October 2006, International PEN will present a report on literary translation, Translation and Globalisation, to the United Nations. Both Sydney PEN and Melbourne PEN have contributed findings on the state of literary translation in Australia today. Katja Gaskell talks to Sydney PEN Translation Committee Chair, Chip Rolley, about the Australian report.

"The report is based on some disturbing statistics, a minimal two to three per cent of books published in the US and the UK are translations of works from other languages," explains Chip Rolley. "Given that the US and UK are the dominant Anglophone countries, it gives you a pretty good idea of what we're being exposed to here in Australia."

The report that International PEN will present before the UN is a combined effort by 12 to 13 PEN centres worldwide to examine the state of literary translation on a national and international scale. The core of the report, however, deals with the lack of translation of foreign literary works into English globally. And it doesn't paint a particularly rosy picture.

"If you compare it to Turkey, 40 per cent of all books published there are books from other languages," explains Chip. "You might expect this because it's a smaller country and how many people actually speak Turkish. But it does give a sense of what's happening in the English-speaking world."

From an international perspective, Sydney PEN hopes that the report's findings will highlight the worryingly low number of foreign works being translated into English at this time of globalisation. On a national level, the translation committee hope that the report will raise awareness to the lack of foreign literary translation by Australian translators and put pressure on the Government for funding.

"The Australian Council has a good track record of getting Australian literature translated into other languages around the world," says Chip. We need to support Australian translators getting funding to translate and publish works here."

"A lot of the translation that gets published (in Australia) is imported from the US or UK so the translators here are not getting work," he continues. "Translators are a great cultural asset for Australia."

The Sydney PEN Translation Committee are dedicated to fighting the corner of the Australian translator. A lack of funding and sometimes even a lack of recognition means that it's a struggle for translators to make a living.

"It's not as if we're making people rich with the kind of funding we're talking about," says Chip. "It's a struggle; it's a big commitment to be a translator. It's not just a matter of being able to speak two languages and hey presto."

One of the ways in which Sydney PEN supports translation is through the NSW Premier's Translation Prize and accompanying PEN Medallion. The biennial prize was proposed by Sydney PEN and is offered by the NSW Government through Arts NSW and the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW. Entrants are judged on a body of work and the prize is offered only to "Australian translators who translate works into English from other languages".

The committee also campaigns to ensure that translators get the recognition they deserve.

"Sometimes translators don't even get credited," explains Chip. "We want to make sure that when a book is reviewed, the translator gets noted. It would read completely differently if someone else had translated it."

The drive for greater translation of foreign literary works is not just about providing work and accreditation to Australian translators however. It's imperative that there is greater access to foreign works if we're to better understand the world in which we live.

"In the age of terrorism that we live in, with increasing suspicion between cultures, it's time we do need a deeper understanding of cultures," says Chip. "And this can be gained by reading great literary works from other cultures."

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SMH article on Sedition

The Sydney Morning Herald published this article on Sedition last week that is worth reading. For the second time this year, the Australian Law Reform Commission called on Philip Ruddock to amend the sedition laws to "draw a bright line between freedom of expression - even when exercised in a challenging or unpopular manner - and the reach of the criminal law." So far, out of a recommended 30 amendments, the only one that Mr. Ruddock has shown signs of supporting is the plan to change the name 'sedition' for "something less emotive".

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