SNARK – Minorities in Translation – is a collection of fiction works, translated from a rare language.
Why minorities in translation?
Why is the translation of all minorities into major European languages such as French, English, German, Spanish, etc., so important? In response, Milan Kundera’s statement in a New Yorker article dated January 1, 2007, sums up the issue remarkably: ‘Since the French do not usually make a distinction between nation and state, I often hear Kafka described as a Czech writer. Of course, that makes no sense. Even though, from 1918, he was indeed a citizen of the newly constituted Czechoslovakia, Kafka wrote only in German and considered himself a German writer. But suppose for a moment that he had written his books in Czech. Who would know him today? It took Max Brod twenty years and tremendous effort to impose Kafka on the world’s consciousness, and that with the support of Germany’s greatest writers! Even if a Prague publisher had managed to publish the books of a hypothetical Czech Kafka, none of his compatriots (that is, no Czech) would have had the authority needed to familiarize the world with these extravagant texts written in the language of a ‘distant country’ about which ‘we know nothing’. No, believe me, nobody would know Kafka today—nobody—if he had been Czech.’
The situation is the same for all literatures originating from Central Europe, South-Eastern Europe, or the Western Balkans.
So why call this collection of fiction works, translated from a rare language, SNARK?
What is the SNARK? It is a hybrid creature, part snake, part snail, part shark.
SNARK is a fictional animal invented by Lewis Carroll, master of the fantastical narrative, author of Alice in Wonderland. In The Hunting of the Snark, the good Englishmen set out one day in search of an animal, which no one has ever seen. SNARK? ‘The SNARK is a peculiar creature that must be caught in a peculiar way,’ wrote Lewis Carroll.
The term SNARK is typically used in reference to a task or goal that is impossible to achieve. Aware of the difficulty in sustaining the collection of minorities in translation, or even the impossibility of this task, we have named it SNARK.
Thus SNARK expresses the uniqueness and difficulty of our task. We pursue this adventure with love and conviction.
SNARK is also an Independent Review dedicated to the publication of minorities in translation, published by Bilingual Publishing.
SNARK will also be the award for the best work of fiction, translated from a rare language. This work will be published in French and will benefit from promotion in France and Europe.
We pursue this adventure with love and conviction.
Klara Buda, President of Bilingual Publishing.