Edith Marion Grossman (née Dorph; March 22, 1936 – September 4, 2023) was an American

literary translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

. Known for her work translating Latin American and Spanish literature to English, she translated the works of Nobel laureate

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

, Nobel laureate

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

Mayra Montero Mayra Montero (born 1952) is a well-known Cuban-Puerto Rican writer. Biography Montero was born in Havana, Cuba in 1952. She is the daughter of Manuel Montero, a very successful Cuban comedic writer and actor who made his career in both Cuba and ...

Augusto Monterroso Augusto Monterroso Bonilla (December 21, 1921 - February 7, 2003) was a Honduran writer who adopted Guatemalan nationality, known for the ironical and humorous style of his short stories. He is considered an important figure in the Latin Americ ...

Jaime Manrique Jaime Manrique (born 16 June 1949) is a bilingual Colombian American novelist, poet, essayist, educator, and translator. His work is a representation of his cultural upbringing and heritage mixed with the flavors of his education in English. A pri ...

Julián Ríos Julián Ríos (born March 11, 1941 in Vigo, Galicia) is a Spanish writer, most frequently classified as a postmodernist, whom Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes has called "the most inventive and creative" of Spanish-language writers. His first two ...

Álvaro Mutis Álvaro Mutis Jaramillo (August 25, 1923 – September 22, 2013) was a Colombian poet, novelist, and essayist. His best-known work is the novel sequence '' The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll'', which revolves around the character ...

, and

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

. She was a recipient of the

PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation The PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation, named in honor of U.S. translator Ralph Manheim, is a literary award given every three years by PEN America (the U.S. chapter of International PEN) to a translator "whose career has demonstrated a comm ...

and the 2022

Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation The Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation, established in 2009, is awarded by the American Academy of Arts & Letters to a practitioner, scholar or patron who has made a significant contribution to the art of literary translation. It was established ...

Background

Born Edith Marion Dorph in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania, Grossman lived in New York City later in life. She received a B.A. and M.A. from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, did graduate work at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and received a Ph.D. from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. She taught at NYU and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

early in her career. Her career as a translator began in 1972 when a friend, Jo-Anne Engelbert, asked her to translate a story for a collection of short works by the Argentine avant-garde writer

Macedonio Fernández Macedonio Fernández (1 June 1874 – 10 February 1952) was an Argentine writer, humorist and philosopher. His writings included novels, stories, poetry, journalism, and works not easily classified. He was a mentor to Jorge Luis Borges and other ...

. Grossman subsequently changed the focus of her work from scholarship and criticism to translation.

Method

In a speech delivered at the 2003 PEN Tribute to Gabriel García Márquez, she explained her method:

Personal life and death

Married to Norman Grossman from 1965, the couple had two sons, but would divorce in 1984. Edith Grossman died from pancreatic cancer at her home in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on September 4, 2023, at the age of 87.

Awards and recognition

Grossman's translation of Miguel de Cervantes's ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', published in 2003, is considered by authors and critics one of the finest English-language translations of the Spanish novel, including

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christophe ...

and

Harold Bloom Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking wor ...

, who called her "the

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

of translators, because she, too, articulates every note." However, some Cervantes scholars have been more critical of her translation. Tom Lathrop, himself a translator of ''Don Quixote'', critiqued her translation in the journal of the Cervantes Society of America, saying: Both Lathrop and Daniel Eisenberg criticized her for a poor choice of Spanish edition as source, leading to inaccuracies; Eisenberg added that "she is the most textually ignorant of the modern translators". Grossman received the

in 2006. In 2008, she received the Arts and Letters Award in Literature awarded by the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

. In 2010, Grossman was awarded the

Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Translation Prize for her 2008 translation of

Antonio Muñoz Molina Antonio Muñoz Molina (born 10 January 1956) is a Spanish writer and, since 8 June 1995, a full member of the Royal Spanish Academy. He received the 1991 Premio Planeta, the 2013 Jerusalem Prize, and the 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for lit ...

's ''A Manuscript of Ashes''. In 2016, she received the Officer's Cross of the Order of Civil Merit awarded by the King of Spain,

Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...

. The American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded her its Thornton Wilder Prize for translation in 2022. In 1990 Gabriel García Márquez said that he prefers reading his own novels in their English translations by Grossman and

Gregory Rabassa Gregory Rabassa, Order of Merit (Portugal), ComM (March 9, 1922 – June 13, 2016), was an American literature, literary translation, translator from Spanish and Portuguese to English. He taught for many years at Columbia University and Queens Co ...

. Grossman was notable for advocating that her name appear on the covers of the books she translated, alongside the author. Translators had traditionally been uncredited, which Grossman facetiously said implied that "a magic wand" had been waved to change the language of the text.

Selected translations

: * ''

,'' Ecco/Harper Collins, 2003. * '' Exemplary Novels,'' Yale University Press, 2016.

: * ''

Love in the Time of Cholera ''Love in the Time of Cholera'' ( es, El amor en los tiempos del cólera) is a novel written in Spanish by Colombian Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez and published in 1985. Edith Grossman's English translation was published by ...

,'' Knopf, 1988. * ''

The General in His Labyrinth ''The General in His Labyrinth'' (original Spanish title: ) is a 1989 dictator novel by Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez. It is a fictionalized account of the last seven months of Simón Bolívar, liberator and leade ...

,'' Penguin, 1991. * ''

Strange Pilgrims ''Strange Pilgrims'' (original Spanish-language title: ''Doce cuentos peregrinos'') is a collection of twelve loosely related short stories by the Nobel Prize–winning Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez. Not published until 1992, the sto ...

,'' Knopf, 1993. * ''

Of Love and Other Demons ''Of Love and Other Demons'' ( es, Del amor y otros demonios, link=no) is a novel by Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez published in 1994. In the prologue, García Márquez claims the novel is the fictional representation of a legend t ...

,'' Knopf, 1995. * '' News of a Kidnapping,'' Knopf, 1997. * ''

Living to Tell the Tale ''Living to Tell the Tale'' (original Spanish language title: ''Vivir para contarla'') is the first volume of the autobiography of Gabriel García Márquez. The book was originally published in Spanish in 2002, with an English translation by Edit ...

,'' Jonathan Cape, 2003. * ''

Memories of My Melancholy Whores ''Memories of My Melancholy Whores'' ( es, link=no, Memoria de mis putas tristes) is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez. The book was originally published in Spanish in 2004, with an English translation by Edith Grossman published in October 2 ...

,'' Vintage, 2005.

: * ''

Death in the Andes ''Death in the Andes'' (''Lituma en los Andes'') is a 1993 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. It follows the character Lituma, from '' Who Killed Palomino Molero?'', after being transferred to the rural town of N ...

'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1996. * ''The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998. * ''

The Feast of the Goat ''The Feast of the Goat'' ( es, La Fiesta del Chivo, 2000) is a novel by the Peruvian Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa. The book is set in the Dominican Republic and portrays the assassination of Dominican dictator Rafael Tru ...

'', Picador, 2001. * '' The Bad Girl'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. * ''In Praise of Reading and Fiction: The Nobel Lecture'',nobel.org
/ref> Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. * ''

Dream of the Celt ''The Dream of the Celt'' () is a novel written by Peruvian writer and 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel laureate in literature Mario Vargas Llosa. The novel was presented to the public November 3, 2010 during a special ceremony held in th ...

'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012. * ''The Discreet Hero'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015. * ''The Neighborhood'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018.

Ariel Dorfman Vladimiro Ariel Dorfman (born May 6, 1942) is an Argentine-Chilean-American novelist, playwright, essayist, academic, and human rights activist. A citizen of the United States since 2004, he has been a professor of literature and Latin American ...

: * ''Last Waltz in Santiago and Other Poems of Exile and Disappearance'', Penguin, 1988. * ''In Case of Fire in a Foreign Land: New and Collected Poems from Two Languages'', Duke University Press, 2002

: * ''In the Palm of Darkness'', HarperCollins, 1997. * ''The Messenger: A Novel'', Harper Perennial, 2000. * ''The Last Night I Spent With You'', HarperCollins, 2000. * ''The Red of His Shadow'', HarperCollins, 2001. * ''Dancing to "Almendra": A Novel'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. * ''Captain of the Sleepers: A Novel'', Picador, 2007.

: * '' The Adventures of Maqroll: Four Novellas'', HarperCollins, 1995. * '' The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll,'' NYRB Classics, 2002. Other works: * José Luis Llovio-Menéndez, ''Insider: My Hidden Life as a Revolutionary in Cuba'', Bantam Books, 1988. *

, ''Complete Works & Other Stories,'' University of Texas Press, 1995. *

, ''Loves That Bind'', Knopf, 1998. *

Eliseo Alberto Eliseo Alberto de Diego García Marruz (September 10, 1951 – July 31, 2011) was a Cuban-born Mexican writer, novelist, essayist and journalist. His numerous works include the novel ''Caracol Beach''. Alberto was nicknamed Lichi. Biography Albert ...

, ''Caracol Beach: A Novel'', Vintage, 2001. *

, ''Monstruary,'' Knopf, 2001. * Pablo Bachelet, ''Gustavo Cisneros: The Pioneer'', Planeta, 2004. * Carmen Laforet, ''Nada: A Novel,'' The Modern Library, 2007. * ''The Golden Age: Poems of the Spanish Renaissance'', W.W. Norton, 2007. *

, ''A Manuscript of Ashes'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. *

Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic priest. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widely considered the most prominent ...

, '' The Solitudes'', Penguin, 2011. * Carlos Rojas, ''The Ingenious Gentleman and Poet Federico Garcia Lorca Ascends to Hell'', Yale University Press, 2013. * Carlos Rojas, ''The Valley of the Fallen'', Yale University Press, 2018. Essay: * ''Why Translation Matters'', Yale University Press, 2010.

References

External links

Interview in Guernica Magazine about "Don Quixote"Edith Grossman's lecture, "Translating Cervantes," delivered at the IDB Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.2016 PEN World Voices Festival: Tribute to Edith Grossman: Making Translation Matter

Podcast Interview with Paula Shackleton BookBuffet.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossman, Edith 1936 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American translators American women anthropologists American women writers Columbia University faculty Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from pancreatic cancer Literary translators New York University alumni New York University faculty Philadelphia High School for Girls alumni Spanish–English translators Translators of Gabriel García Márquez Translators of Mario Vargas Llosa Translators of Miguel de Cervantes University of Pennsylvania alumni Writers from Manhattan Writers from Philadelphia