The Literary Translation Situation in Brunei Darussalam

Michael at Complete Review has a great post this morning about the literary scene in Brunei Darussalam.

Recently, there was a meeting of high ranking representatives to “express their concern over the future of the literature scenario in Brunei Darussalam.”

They proposed for major works of local literary writers to be translated so that their books could be promoted globally.

“Translation (of local writings) is very important, as this would ensure that our writers are introduced to the world,” they said, adding that the ultimate goal is to see a local writer receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 10 to 20 years’ time. (Via Brudirect.com)

I’ll be shocked if any of you can name a single author from Brunei—this is why we turned on the comments, fyi—so obviously, they have a ways to go . . . That said, it sounds like the monthly magazine Bahana might help spread the word a bit, and their hearts and interest are in the right place. Not sure how easy it will be to find a translator, but if the government puts up a bit of funding to offset publication costs, some publisher will jump on this.