MALTS Translation portfolio

A small collection of texts I’m working on for the Masters of Arts in Literary Translation Studies (MALTS) at the University of Rochester. (Sadly, despite what the acronym implies, the MALTS program involves no beer.) All the texts are original Esperanto literature translated to English.

I’m eager for reader feedback, especially from native English speakers. Don’t know Esperanto? Not sure what sort of feedback to give? See how to critique a translation.

I don’t have publication rights for these, so access from outside the UR campus is limited due to copyright restrictions. Please contact me at hoss at lodestone period org for the username and password.

  • Schoolgirl
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes • Word document (no translator’s notes)
    Length: ~1800 words.
    Description: A subversive young-adult story set in 1960s Britain. A young teen yearning to understand the wonders of her newfound sexuality learns not to confide in her mother.
    Original: Lernantino. From the short story collection Okuloj by Marjorie Boulton, 1967.
    Last update: 2021-03-14
  • Shadow on an Internal Landscape, part 1
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes • Word document (no translator’s notes)
    Length: ~4400 words.
    Description: The opening of Spomenka Štimec’s debut novel, about the collapse of an international, cross-cultural marriage.
    Original: Ombro sur interna pejzaĝo. 2nd edition, 1996.
    Last update: 2020-05-13
  • Victims, chapter 1
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes • Word document (no translator’s notes)
    Length: ~2500 words
    Description: The opening chapter of Julio Baghy’s first “Siberian novel”, set in a WWI camp for prisoners of war in Siberia.
    Original: Viktimoj. 6th edition, 1991.
    Last update: 2021-03-20
  • Victims, chapter 2
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes • Word document (no translator’s notes)
    Length: ~4200 words
    Description: The second chapter of Julio Baghy’s first “Siberian novel”. This translation is still very rough.
    Original: Viktimoj. 6th edition, 1991.
    Last update: 2020-05-20
  • The War of the Hats
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes
    Length: ~1100 words.
    Description: A silly but charming fairy tale, written for adults, and incorporating untranslateable elements of Esperanto’s orthography and history.
    Original: La milito de la ĉapeloj. From the collection Fabeloj de la verda pigo by Louis Beaucaire, 1981.
    Last update: 2019-12-17
  • Eyes
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes • Word document (no translator’s notes)
    Length: ~7200 words.
    Description: A tortured artist saves a suicidal teen, then invites her over for tea. Through his art she learns how to see the world with a newfound sense of wonder, and both find newfound purpose in their lives.
    Original: Okuloj. From the collection of the same name by Marjorie Boulton, 1967.
    Last update: 2019-02-27
  • Europe 2019
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes
    Length: 1 page.
    Description: A short, free-form poem lamenting the rise of nationalism and right-wing extremism in a crumbling European Union. Much wordplay and internal rhyme.
    Original: Eŭropo 2019 by István Ertl, 2019.
    Last update: 2019-12-01
  • Headspun
    Download: PDF with translator’s notes • Word document (no translator’s notes)
    Length: ~7900 words.
    Description: Cyberpunk meets Tim Burton. A dense, somewhat difficult, but very imaginative story that combines elements of fantasy, dark comedy, and historical fiction. The economy of Factory City is threatened by the rediscovery of the guillotine, a device allowing workers to easily leave their troubles behind. Mudja, an aspiring thanatologist, journeys to the spirit realm in an attempt to undermine the credibility of its 18th-century French inventor. Along the way, she meets a range of odd and hilarious characters, including a biker gang that idolizes Elvis and the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham.
    Original: Kapturnoj. From the short story collection of the same name by Higinio García, 1999.
    Last update: 2020-02-27