Ann Goldstein (translator) explained

Ann Goldstein (born June 1949) is an American editor and translator from the Italian language. She is best known for her translations of Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet. She was the panel chair for translated fiction at the US National Book Award in 2022.[1] She was awarded the PEN Renato Poggioli prize in 1994 and was a Guggenheim Fellow in 2008.

Early life

Ann Goldstein grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey. She attended Bennington College, in Vermont, where she read Ancient Greek.[2] She then studied comparative philology at University College, London.[3]

Career

After her graduation, in 1973, Goldstein began work at Esquire magazine as a proof-reader. In 1974, she joined the staff of The New Yorker, working in the copy department and becoming its head in the late 1980s.[2] She retired from The New Yorker in 2017.[4]

From 1987, Goldstein edited John Updike's literary reviews contributed to The New Yorker.[5]

During her time at The New Yorker, Goldstein, along with some colleagues, began taking Italian lessons.[6] Over a period of three years, from 1987, they studied the language and read all of Dante's works. In 1992, Goldstein received Chekhov in Sondrio, a book by Aldo Buzzi, an Italian writer, and she attempted to translate an essay from it. This became Goldstein's first translation publication, coming out in the Sept. 14, 1992, edition of the New Yorker.[7]

In 2004, Goldstein was asked by Europa Editions, a new imprint, to submit a translation of passages from Elena Ferrante's The Days of Abandonment. Her sample was judged the best among the submissions, and she was offered the contract to translate the book.[2]

In 2015, a three-volume publication of the complete works of Primo Levi came out, edited by Goldstein. The effort of obtaining translation rights took six years,[8] while its compilation and translation took seventeen years,[9] and it was acclaimed by critics. Goldstein oversaw the team of nine translators and translated three of Levi's books.[2]

Accolades

Jennifer Maloney in The Wall Street Journal writes in 2016:

"Translators rarely achieve celebrity status. But as Ms. Ferrante’s star has risen, so too has Ms. Goldstein’s. Her English translations of the four books in Ms. Ferrante’s Neapolitan series have sold more than a million copies in North America, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Ms. Goldstein ... is now one of the most sought-after translators of Italian literature."[10]

Robert Weil, editor-in-chief and publishing director of Liveright, has said of Goldstein, “Her name on a book now is gold."

Selected works

Translated

Fiction
Non-fiction

Edited

Honours

Notes and References

  1. News: Publishing Perspectives. The US National Book Awards: Celebrating the Winners. Porter Anderson. November 17, 2022.
  2. News: The Wall Street Journal. Ann Goldstein: A Star Italian Translator. Jennifer Maloney. January 20, 2016.
  3. Web site: Guggenheim Foundation. Ann Goldstein.
  4. News: The New York Times. Reading Elena Ferrante in English? You're Also Reading Ann Goldstein. Joumana Khatib. August 21, 2020.
  5. The New Yorker. Remembering Updike. Ann Goldstein. March 20, 2009.
  6. Web site: Ann Goldstein on Translating Elena Ferrante and the Inner Workings of The New Yorker Literary Hub. lithub.com. September 2016 . 2016-09-02.
  7. Guernica. The Face of Ferrante. Karina Dodson. January 15, 2016.
  8. News: The New York Times. November 23, 2015. Edward Mendelson. 'The Complete Works of Primo Levi'.
  9. News: Primo Levi complete: $100 book runs 3,000 pages with a Toni Morrison introduction. Hillel Italie. September 28, 2015. Associated Press.
  10. News: Ann Goldstein: A Star Italian Translator. Maloney. Jennifer. 2016-01-20. Wall Street Journal. 2018-03-22. en-US. 0099-9660.
  11. Web site: Ann Goldstein. 19 July 2012 . PEN America.

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