April 2013: Antonio D’Orrico, “La Lettura,” Corriere della Sera

The Translator’s Thistle/Il Cardo del Traduttore for April 2013 is awarded to:

Antonio D’Orrico, literary critic for the Corriere della Sera newspaper and the «Club de La Lettura»

Read the citation in English.

~ IN RECOGNITION OF ~

• His diligent refusal to cite translators’ names in any of the interviews, literary features, and book reviews that he publishes in Corriere della Sera, other periodicals, and online.

Antonio D’Orrico has been called Italy’s “most courageous” literary critic. Despite his reputation as a formidable critic – and despite the influence he wields through the Corriere della Sera’s “Readers’ Club” (http://lettura.corriere.it)  – Mr. D’Orrico clearly doesn’t believe in translators. In any case, he studiously avoids mentioning them.

This is true despite the fact that the vast majority of the books D’Orrico discusses are written in languages other than Italian. In other words, they are translated.

A few examples: Wilbur Smith’s Vicious Circle; George Simenon’s Les Demoiselles de Concarneau; John Grisham’s The Racketeer; Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Clara Sánchez’s Entra En Mi Vida.

For Antonio D’Orrico the name of the publisher is news. The price of the book is news. The name of the translator is not news.

Though something clearly lies behind Mr. D’Orrico’s scorn of translators, it isn’t courage.

_____________________

v Why The Translator’s Thistle? / Perché Il Cardo del Traduttore? This is Not an Oversight. It’s a Policy – Italian Media and the Incredible Disappearing Translator

v Scrivi a / Write to Corriere della Sera: direttore@corriere.it, francesca.marzotto@rcs.it (Media Relations); antonio.dorrico.98@facebook.com (Antonio D’Orrico)

v Su / On Twitter: @Corriereit, @corrieremilano, @DeBortoliF (Publisher Ferruccio de Bortoli), @Daniele_Manca (Ass’t Publisher, Daniele Manca), @ggschiavi (Ass’t Publisher, Giangiacomo Schiavi), @lucfontana (Corriere Milan, Luciano Fontana), @La_Lettura, @ninotchko (Antonio D’Orrico)

Tweet modello: Complimenti D’Orrico, vincitore del Cardo del Traduttore, aprile 2013 tinyurl.com/bv4kjes – Visibilità=Rispetto / Suggested tweet: Congratulations D’Orrico, winner of the Translator’s Thistle, April 2013 tinyurl.com/bv4kjes – Visibility=Respect

v Manda un Cardo del Traduttore in italiano /Send a Translator’s Thistle in English.

v Tell us who deserves to be the next Thistle of the Month! / Segnalaci un candidato per il prossimo Cardo del Mese!