{"id":436992,"date":"2021-05-24T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/?p=436992"},"modified":"2021-05-24T12:00:11","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T16:00:11","slug":"statistical-noise-granta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/2021\/05\/24\/statistical-noise-granta\/","title":{"rendered":"Statistical Noise [Granta]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It took a few more days than I had hoped, but I have officially read all twenty-five pieces included in this new\u00a0Granta\u00a0<\/em>issue. (I wonder how many people actually do<\/em> read it from cover to cover. And what percentage that is of all the copies in circulation. God, I’ll bet that number is depressing, whether it’s\u00a0Granta<\/em>, an Open Letter title, or, even a NY Times<\/i> best-seller.) Which is going to make writing these last four posts a lot easier\u2014at least in terms of grouping together five pieces per post in a way that\u00a0sort of\u00a0<\/em>makes sense.<\/p>\n

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For example, this post\u2014which will consider the influence on the publication of translated titles from the included countries\u2014is mostly about the science-fiction pieces in the collection. Valerie Miles, Veronica Esposito, and I talked about the prevalence of speculative writing on this second list of “best young Spanish-language novelists,” considering there weren’t any\u00a0<\/em>in the 2010 list. (At least not that we could remember. Feel free to point out our memory gaps in the comments.)<\/p>\n

\"\"Anyway, I actually want to start with Dainerys Machado Vento and Will Vanderhyden’s “The Color of Balloons,”<\/strong> which has exactly no science-fiction elements, but is really lively, sarcastically funny, and a true joy to read.<\/p>\n

I don’t want to give away much of the story\u2014basically, a young woman who has been trying to get pregnant goes to a gender reveal party with her partner, and ends up making a scene\u2014but the awkwardness of the interactions at the party feel especially fitting as the world starts to reopen.<\/p>\n

Here in NY, we no longer have to wear masks, given the high rate of vaccinated adults and the low infection rates. (Which is in contrast to Texas, where you don’t wear masks because FREEDOM.) I absolutely love going to my local bar, walking in maskless, interacting with noticeably more relaxed couples and their dogs, and generally feeling like life is finally about to start again. (Don’t get me started on the possibility of being able to travel to Europe in TWO WEEKS.)<\/p>\n

I don’t know why\u2014I’m not particularly attractive, or that interesting to talk to\u2014but pre-COVID, I used to end up in some truly odd conversations with randoms. Which I lived for! When that went away, I had to pivot and, like many people, I spent the past year and a half working on my self. On personal envy, on concepts of self-worth\/self-hate, and, especially of how to create a positive vibe, since we live in a universe of abundance and like attracts like, which is both a great sign for a doctor’s office and a potential key to success.<\/p>\n

At the same time, my mind totally broke sometime this past winter. John O’Brien’s death, the absurd insurrection that was straight out of South Park<\/em>, and all the COVID COVID COVID left me scattered and lethargic. Goodbye, self-esteem! So long, sense of purpose! Logic, who you even be? Which, going back to that like-attracts-like spiritual concept, is probably why over the past few days, every nutter in Rochester has been all up in my business.<\/p>\n

I’ve had people come up and talk to me, initially about the St. Louis Cardinals, before abruptly turning to talk about PAW Patrol<\/em>. (“Chase is on the case! Right? Those pups are on a roll!” “Sir, I’m not sure if you’re a pedo or not, but you’re getting into some weird territory.” “Rubble is my favorite.” “You are over 50 years old!” “Ryder is such a good role model.” “I’m sorry, but I don’t know who that is and I’m uncomfortable . . .”)<\/p>\n

There was also aa guy who “stopped” me outside of the Eastman House though. He froze me with his wild eyes, and punched the wooden fence as hard as he could. Without breaking eye contact, he said, “Fuck you, fence! You stay on your side and I’ll stay over here. God have mercy on your soul.” And then nodded and walked on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Summer 2021 is gonna be fire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Last post<\/a>, I looked at the predictive nature of\u00a0Granta\u00a0<\/em>with relation to how many fiction works the writers on their lists wrote post-inclusion, and how many books from the first Spanish-language authors ended up being translated. It was sort of predictive, I suppose, although it wasn’t 1:1, and without the counterfactuals (namely, the number of authors who either qualified for the list but didn’t send their work in, or those whose work was submitted, were passed over, and went on to have illustrious careers), the results were muddled.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Let’s do it all over again! This time though, let’s just look at the countries that were represented in the first issue and see if this had any impact on publication in English translation. To that end, here are two hypotheses:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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1.) Editors love finding hot literary scenes, trying to get ahead of other presses and find the next big thing. (To use a current example, just think of all the young female Korean writers who have broken out over the past few years.) So, if there’s a really interesting piece from a particular country\u2014especially a country that is currently under the radar when it comes to being translated\u2014an editor might seek out the contemporary writers from that particular country, and maybe their predecessors; or,<\/p>\n

2.) Despite the fact that to readers immersed in Spanish-language lit, there’s a difference in approach, style, and concern between writers from Spain and those from Argentina, the vast majority of people just lump all these works together as being “Spanish.” As such, inclusion of a story from, say, El Salvador, will make little to no difference in what’s acquired and published in the ensuing years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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To try and prove one of these two contradictory hypotheses\u2014either the country of origin of included authors matters in terms of future availability of works from that writer’s country, or it doesn’t\u2014I looked at how many books were published from the respective countries in the three years prior to the release of the first Granta\u00a0<\/em>list (2008-2010) and the three subsequent years (2011-2013).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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One note before sharing my findings: In contrast to the 2021 list, the 2010 one was much less diverse in terms of country of origin. That list included writers hailing from eight different countries , whereas the 2021 list features twelve. (But still no Venezuela! Listen to the most recent podcast<\/a> to get that ref.) On the 2010 list there were authors from: Argentina (8), Bolivia (1), Chile (2), Colombia (1), Mexico (1), Peru (2), Spain (6), and Uruguay (1). (As Valerie mentioned, the 2021 list includes writers from outside of the typical “cultural hubs,” such as Costa Rica\/Puerto Rico, Cuba, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, and Nicaragua.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In support of hypothesis 1, there was an increase in works of fiction published in translation (NOTE: all the following numbers are for works of fiction\u00a0only<\/strong>) from the countries featured in the 2010 list in the three years following its release. Between 2008 and 2010, 99 titles were published in English translation from the eight included countries, and between 2011 and 2013, that number went up to 122\u2014a 23% increase!!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Good, good, except for the fact that those numbers are devoid of context . . . Between 2008 and 2010, 851 works of fiction were translated from all\u00a0<\/strong>languages. That jumped to 1,193 for the years of 2011-13, which is a, gulp, 40% increase. In other words, the overall growth in literature in translation\u00a0far\u00a0<\/strong>outpaced<\/strong> the growth in translations from the\u00a0Granta\u00a0<\/em>countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ironically, comparing all books translated from Spanish, regardless of country, in these same two three-year periods, there was only a 14% increase. So, maybe inclusion in\u00a0Granta\u00a0<\/em>was beneficial? I DON’T KNOW.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The “hardest” sci-fi story in this year’s\u00a0Granta\u00a0<\/em>has to be\u00a0Mateo Garc\u00eda Elizondo and Robin Myers’s “Capsule,” <\/strong>the high concept of which is that the government has found a cheaper and more “humane” way of dealing with criminals condemned to spend the rest of their life in prison. I’ll let Garc\u00eda Elizondo take over:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Even so, I was found guilty on all three counts, and I became one of the world\u2019s first prisoners to be sentenced to the capsule: a new correctional method recently approved by the regulatory agencies of the United Nations and internationally lauded as the most humane means ever designed for dealing with lifers like me. The cheapest, too. Instead of having to house us, feed us and keep us entertained for the rest of our lives, some genius on the Penitentiary Commission had the bright idea of sealing us up in lead-and-titanium spheres measuring two and a half meters around and shooting us into outer space.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It’s kind of traditional sci-fi\u2014an idea that the author plays out to its bitter, discomforting end. But if you like your fiction like you like your black holes\u2014darker than dark\u2014you’ll dig this story. Especially the “get out of jail free” button that just launches the convict into the terrifying nothingness of space.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n