A carnival of voices
Given the state of the book industry these days, you might expect an independent Welsh publisher specialising in the work of the younger generation of Welsh writers to concentrate exclusively on such good work.
Parthian, however, are bolder than this. From their base in Cardigan/Aberteifi, they proudly publish new fiction and poetry by the likes of Lloyd Robson, Rachel Trezise (she won the 2007 Dylan Thomas Prize) and Matthew David Scott, but they also – wait for it – are encouraging us to read a Basque anthology of short stories, fiction by leading Catalan writers, a historical and political mystery from the Spanish Civil War and a German novel exploring how one family copes during and after the Second World War.
In these anodyne times, such a bold approach is nothing short of miraculous and deserves the applause and gratitude of the reading public at large. (Goodness alone knows what the accountant has to say at editorial meetings, though.)
This ‘carnival of voices’, as Parthian so charmingly describe their list, is exemplified by Strange Language, perhaps the, um, bravest of their titles. If you had to choose the two genres of fiction most difficult to sell, I wager that you’d say a) short stories, and b) translated fiction. What is Strange Language then?: yep, you guessed it – an anthology of fourteen short stories translated from the Basque language (of which it is estimated by Andrew Dalby in his Dictionary of Languages that there are fewer than 700,000 fluent speakers). Bernardo Atxaga will most likely be the only contributor whose name is even remotely well known to English readers, but don’t let unfamiliarity with the other writers in this anthology put you off. The Basque country is a unique pocket of Europe with its own unique culture and stories to tell and be told.
One of northern Spain’s other major languages – Catalan – is represented on the Parthian list by a collection of plays and three novels, two of which are set during Franco’s military regime. Under the Dust by celebrated Catalan writer Jordi Coca (trans. Richard Thomson) draws on the author’s childhood experiences to describe Barcelona during the dictatorship; Paper Spurs by Olga Merino (trans. AG Thomas) is set in Barcelona in the 1950s. Sílvia Soler’s Look Me in the Eye (also trans. Richard Thomson) is something different: a woman over-identifies with the main character in a book she is translating – a woman whose husband is cheating on her – to the extent that she begins to doubt her own husband’s fidelity.
Parthian’s other title to be translated from a Spanish language is a work of non-fiction. To Bury the Dead, by Ignacio Martínez de Pisón (trans. Anne McLean – two of whose translations have been shortlisted for the 2009 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize) investigates a brutal political murder and fascinating literary feud hidden by the dust of the Spanish Civil War.
Parthian’s first German translation – The Bridge Over the River, written and translated by Johannes Gramich – is also set in the past. It is 1941, and 12-year-old Lynette has started writing a diary. Through her entries Lynette tells the story of a family caught between the worlds of language, history and the changing borders of a Europe twisted and torn by war.
Of course, we mustn’t forget that Parthian have always been committed to commissioning translations from Welsh into English. Since the publication of Robin Llywelyn’s From Empty Harbour to White Ocean in 1996 they have published full-length work by Sonia Edwards (A White Veil for Tomorrow and White Tree), Caryl Lewis's Martha, Jack and Shanco (trans. Gwen Davies), and – here we go again – an anthology of short stories, A White Afternoon (trans. Meic Stephens). Their latest Welsh translation is also a collection of stories called Big Grey Water by the aforementioned Robin Llywelyn (trans. Diarmuid Johnson).
If you are in any doubt about the intriguing niche that Parthian is developing for itself, visit their website. Here you will find out how and why publishing director Richard Davies came to make the Spanish connection, as well as information about all their titles and about how their English- and Welsh-language books are being translated into other languages.
Davies talks about how all Parthian books ‘have their own story of editors and readers and enthusiasms and chance meetings in bars and book fairs. It's why,’ he says, ‘we are in publishing I think. The people ...’
The books are pretty good, too.
