{"id":3144,"date":"2015-05-01T09:30:55","date_gmt":"2015-05-01T01:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3144"},"modified":"2015-04-29T23:34:23","modified_gmt":"2015-04-29T15:34:23","slug":"burton-watson-named-penralph-manheim-medalist-for-lifetime-achievement-in-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3144","title":{"rendered":"Burton Watson Named PEN\/Ralph Manheim Medalist for Lifetime Achievement in Translation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A41A6373<\/a><\/p>\n

It is with great pleasure that PEN America <\/a>announces today that the 2015 PEN\/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation will be awarded to scholar and translator of Chinese and Japanese literature\u00a0Burton Watson. One of PEN\u2019s most prestigious lifetime achievement awards, the medal is given every three years to a translator whose career has demonstrated a commitment to excellence through the body of his or her work, and has been previously awarded to such distinguished translators as Gregory Rabassa, Edith Grossman, and Edmund Keeley, among others.<\/p>\n

The winner of the PEN\/Ralph Manheim Medal is chosen by the members of the PEN America Translation Committee, who are dedicated to highlighting the art of literary translation and advocating on behalf of translators. As the committee’s citation states, \u201cBurton Watson is the inventor of classical East Asian poetry for our time.\u201d Among other writers, Watson has translated the works of Chuang Tzu, Han-shan, Su Tung-P’o, and Po Ch\u00fc-i.<\/p>\n

Credited with making many classical Chinese and Japanese works accessible to the English-reading public for the first time, Watson\u2019s translations also span a wide array of genres, from poetry and prose\u00a0to histories and sacred texts. The committee citation continues, \u201cFor decades his anthologies and\u00a0his scholarly introductions have defined classical East Asian literature for students and readers in North America, and we have reason to expect more: even at his advanced age, he still translates nearly daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1982, Watson was a recipient of the PEN Translation Prize for his translation of\u00a0From the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese Poetry by Hiroaki Sato<\/em>\u00a0(Anchor Press\/University of Washington Press) and in 1995 for his translation of\u00a0Selected Poems of Su Tung\u2013p’o<\/em>\u00a0(Copper Canyon). PEN is thrilled to now recognize\u00a0Watson for his valued and longstanding commitment to the art of translation, bringing great creativity and precision to his work and introducing great works of literature to a wider audience.<\/p>\n

Watson will be honored, along with all 2015 PEN award winners,\u00a0at the PEN Literary Awards Ceremony on\u00a0June 8\u00a0at The New School in New York City.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click the image for the full citation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is with great pleasure that PEN America announces today that the 2015 PEN\/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation will be awarded to scholar and translator of Chinese and Japanese literature\u00a0Burton Watson. One of PEN\u2019s most prestigious lifetime achievement awards, the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[1591,436,1373,1589,1341,1529,1592,1593,1590,453],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8srwF-OI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3753,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3753","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":0},"title":"Burton Watson Obituary in NYTimes Books Section","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"May 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times books section has published an obituary of Burton Watson, over a month after he passed away. William Grimes writes: Burton Watson, whose spare, limpid translations, with erudite introductions, opened up the world of classical Japanese and Chinese literature to generations of English-speaking readers, died on April\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Burton Watson remembrance"","block_context":{"text":"Burton Watson remembrance","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=1774"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/05\/04\/arts\/04watson-obit\/04watson-obit-blog427.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3716,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3716","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":1},"title":"Burton Watson NYTimes Obituary","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Times has finally published an obituary of Burton Watson. It reads: Burton Dewitt Watson, scholar and translator of Chinese and Japanese literature, died on April 1, 2017, in Japan at the age of 92. As winner of the PEN\/Ralph Manheim Medal in 2015, Dr. Watson was regarded\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Burton Watson remembrance"","block_context":{"text":"Burton Watson remembrance","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=1774"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ak-cache.legacy.net\/legacy\/images\/Cobrands\/nytimes\/Photos\/185122853.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2516,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2516","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":2},"title":"In Other Words: a discussion about translation and translators at Asian Review","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"March 20, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Julia Lovell, Sophie Lewis, Arunava Sinha, Marcia Lynx Qualey and I took part in a discussion at Asian Review of Books on the nature of translation and the role of translators in bringing Asian literature to the English-speaking world. Here is an excerpt from the conversation: Peter Gordon, editor:\u00a0A work\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3660,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3660","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":3},"title":"Burton Watson, 1925 – 2017","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Burton Watson, the greatest translator of premodern poetry and prose from Chinese and Japanese, passed away on the evening of April 1, 2017, at Hatsutomi Hospital in Kamagata City, Chiba, Japan. He was 91. I have so far been unable to find an obituary. I am reposting \"Not Altogether an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xichuanpoetry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/A41A6373-2-758x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2616,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=2616","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":4},"title":"Not Altogether an Illusion: Lucas Klein on Burton Watson","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"May 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As part of a Translation & World Literature feature, World Literature Today has published my short article \"Not Altogether an Illusion: Translation and Translucence in the Work of Burton Watson.\" Here's an excerpt: Since Chinese poetry started being translated into English, poets and sinologists have presented poetry and sinology as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Links"","block_context":{"text":"Links","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.worldliteraturetoday.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2014\/May\/klein_watson_illustration.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3671,"url":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?p=3671","url_meta":{"origin":3144,"position":5},"title":"John Bradley on Burton Watson (1925 \u2013 2017)","author":"Lucas Klein","date":"April 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"In honor of Burton Watson\u2019s passing, I am collecting statements and memories from friends and fans, to be posted as they come in. The following remembrance is by John Bradley, from his review of Salutations; a Festschrift for Burton Watson (Ahadada \/ Ekleksographia, 2015), originally published in Rain Taxi #81\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Burton Watson remembrance"","block_context":{"text":"Burton Watson remembrance","link":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/?cat=1774"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3144"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3166,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3144\/revisions\/3166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xichuanpoetry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}