Polish Found in Translation Award 2016 won by American translator

American Professor Bill Johnston has won Poland’s prestigious Found in Translation Award. 

The Found in Translation Award was established 2007. The winner receives a prize PLN 16,000, coupled with a three-month residency in Kraków, which has been a UNESCO City of Literature since 2013. 

The prize is open to works translated from Polish into English and enjoys sponsorship by the Polish Book Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute London, the Polish Cultural Institute New York and the Polish Institute New Delhi.

2016 Found in Translation winner

The 2016 Found in Translation winner, Professor Bill Johnston, was awarded the prize for his rendering of ‘Twelve Stations,’ the mock epic poem by Tomasz Różycki.  The poem tells the tale of a young Pole travelling to Ukraine for a family reunion, with playful references to the greats of Polish literature, such as Czesław Milosz and Adam Mickiewicz. 

Prize winner Professor Johnston is Professor of Comparative Literature at Indiana University in the US. Having completed his translation of Twelve Stations, he has now turned his attention to producing a rendition of Mickiewicz's epic 'Pan Tadeusz' poem. Given his award-wining status, we can expect an outstanding translation! 

The importance of Found in Translation

The Found in Translation Award plays an important role in promoting the value of translation services in the literary world. Just as the Man Booker International Prize recognises the translator as much as the author, the Found in Translation Award emphasises the value of translators when it comes to sharing the very best works of fiction with new audiences. 

Final thoughts

Have you translated poetry? How does it differ from translating other works of fiction? Is it harder or easier to translate? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.