Novel Vladislav Bajc Hamam Balkanija it has just been published in Iran in the Persian (Farsi) language. The publisher is the Tehran-based Amir Kabir, one of the most renowned in Iran. The translator is Yusef Sohrabi.
Although the news about the translation of one of Vladislav Bajc's novels is, it can be said, common because he is one of the top writers whose books can be read in other languages, the news about a translation into an old language is special.
"I must admit that for all these years of writing experience, I have never counted the editions of my books. Neither those in Serbian, nor those in foreign languages. However, since I have now been asked to say something about it, I will say that there are approximately between ninety and one hundred editions so far. Of that, almost two-thirds are foreign editions," says Vladislav Bajac for the "Vremena" portal.
The most exotic edition
Just a novel Hamam Balkanija, Baj's most translated book, has been published in over twenty languages and several countries.
This last edition, in Persian, he says seems to him to be "the most exotic" because it "automatically threw him into the times of ancient civilizations" and adds that "the same reaction was caused by editions in Chinese and Arabic, and even in Greek." The secret is in visually different letters, original characters. After all, that's probably how our alphabet seems to foreigners, especially the Cyrillic alphabet."
Front page of "Hamam Balkanija", Iran
We continue about the translations of his books into the languages of ancient civilizations, which, he says, have particularly interested him throughout his life:
"Different translations have come out in Arabic Hamam Balkanija, two editions in Egypt and one in Jordan. The distribution of one of the Egyptian editions covered a wider linguistic area."
It lists that "they were published in Chinese Bath i The book of bamboo which had a very good response there. They took me to guest appearances several times, and there I received the biggest Chinese literary award. There is a novel in Greece Druid of Sindidun was shortlisted for the Best Foreign Book, and was also published Hammam. They were published in Turkey Bath i bamboo. Their presentations were extremely well organized and attended."
Six editions in English
He says that his foreign career was conceived in France.
"There, in the middle of the Yugoslav wars, Gallimar published in 1993 A book about bamboo. That's how I became the first writer from the former Yugoslavia to be published in this house after Danilo Kish. After many years bamboo was also published in a pocket edition by another publisher. In both cases, distribution also included Belgium, Switzerland and Canada. The same was the case with the French edition Hamam Balkanija".
It is generally known and taken for granted, he says, "that some world languages mean more to a writer than some others." Sometimes because of its distribution, and sometimes because of the publisher. Sometimes also because of love for a certain language."
In this context, Bajac states that Bath "published in six editions in English. Two in Great Britain (soft and electronic), three in the United States (hard, soft, electronic) and one in Serbia. One of the editions in English brought the book the Balkanika prize of the international jury for the best book in the Balkans."
Speaking of those widespread languages, he notes, "this book was only published in Spanish, in Argentina, a year ago. In this case, the contract provides for distribution in four more South American countries (Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico), but not in Spain. The publisher recommended that we skip it because the Spanish like to have their own separate editions (I guess from their sense of the motherland of the common language). But that's why Bath immediately entered the Slavic studies program at the University of Buenos Aires".
Of the "major" languages, they were "published" in Russian A book in bamboo (two editions) i Hammam. There were also talks about the film (based on the translated but not yet published book A Chronicle of Doubt). "
Both previously mentioned books were published in German. They were published in Italian The book about bamboo (two editions), Bath Balkania at the renowned company Jaca Letteratura, which did me a great honor: after many years of publishing exclusively professional and theoretical literature, it launched a series of fiction books. Among them were all the Nobel laureates themselves (Solzhenitsyn, Shojinka, Lagerqvist). Two editions of my stories were published in Italy Coasters for dreams, as well as stories Europe on the back of a bull, in total with three or four publishers."
Region
Then: "Novels were published in Albania." A Chronicle of Doubt i Bath, and because of them I was their guest several times. A lot of my titles were published in Bulgaria, some in multiple editions. They were often issued in the 90s during the breakup of Yugoslavia. Interesting. Of course, even after that."
In the former JU area, "in the Slovenian language bamboo was issued in three editions (hard, soft and paperback), a Bath in two (hard and soft). Macedonian publishers have published almost all of my prose books, in multiple editions, with several international awards. I felt like a local writer there all those years. Speaking of the former JU space, some of my books were published in Croatia and Montenegro as well."
The inevitable question
In every conversation about the writer and the translations of his works, the inevitable question is - has another language changed the book, its emotion, its sound, its thought?
"Basically, in detail, the writer does not know (except for the languages he knows well). There are only other people's, foreign impressions. He gets a more serious answer to that question only partially from expert associates of the respective language and country, from writers, literary critics and friends. And of course, knowing that there are pleasures in very good translations, as well as irreparable damage in bad translations. Namely, the readership and professional public perceive a bad translation first as a poorly written book, as an insufficiently high-quality style; therefore, as an omission of the writer's insufficient talent."
However, "if we ignore this issue, the writer is left to imagine reading that foreign language that he looks at, listens to, but does not understand." But he can listen and like his melody, sound, rhythm more or less. Sometimes, in a public reading aloud, the author guesses the meaning of words or sentences, trying to recognize his original. Sometimes it works. And when he fails, the only thing left is to trust that other language, as if it were his own."
"This situation seems a bit like one of the games of chance: the lottery, the draw of the vines, or like a good card in poker." And what can be said in the case of a perfectly talented writer and an equally great translation, when it happens that one does not know why a book became successful? Or rather, when it wasn't? And all other versions of (failure to) succeed…”
