a bit of pitch is expanding. The impetus for this expansion is an idea that Brigitte Stocker, a Vienna-based translator and Kraus expert specialized in the later Kraus, puts forth in an up-coming paper where she explores certain issues surrounding Karl Kraus in English translation.
Her idea consists in a new form of translating that involves not only the translator and the text, but a panel of translators and researchers collaborating online. The translation that emerges online would be seen as a work in progress to be enhanced not only by professional translators and English native speakers, but also by advanced readers, researchers, and Kraus experts who can help decode (i) literary allusions, (ii) documentary material, (iii) historical events, and (iv) local details, which Kraus included in his writings (see Austrian Studies, Vol. 23 (2015)).
Brigitte has agreed to join me here at a bit of pitch in an attempt to implement her idea in these pages. In a word, a bit of pitch is now expanding into a translation panel. The inaugural translation panel effort will be a translation of Kraus’s poem “Zwei Läufer” (“Two Runners”). Stay tuned! We plan to post the translation before very long. In the meantime, you can follow Brigitte on Twitter here.
We are also looking for additional translators and researchers who are interested in collaborative translation work whose sole objective consists in providing good English translations of Karl Kraus’s work. If you are interested, please send an e-mail to pwinslow@abitofpitch.com.
Please join me in welcoming Brigitte to a bit of pitch!