Publishers Need More Black Translator Friends
Institutional transformation often begins at the grassroots, argues translator and editor Aaron Robertson as he considers a roadmap for bringing Black writers and translators into an industry in which they are statistically underrepresented.
Over the last year and a half, since the publication of my first translated book, I’ve felt it necessary to preface my conversations with aspiring translators by telling them that I know less than they think. This isn’t necessarily a disadvantage and may be helpful in the end. I’ve lately been thinking of C.L.R. James, the Trinidadian Pan-Africanist whose belief in the creativity of “plain” people working democratically outside of capitalist enterprises has soothed me. There are obstacles translators must face before the international sections of bookstores reflect the world more equitably. Institutional transformation often begins at the grassroots, though, so I’d like to consider what some of this ground level work may look like in the near future.