Eric Abrahamsen Explained

Eric Abrahamsen (born 1978) is an American award-winning literary translator from Chinese to English.^[1]

Biography

Abrahamsen studied Chinese at the Central University for Nationalities in Beijing from 2001, and remained in China until 2016, translating and promoting Chinese literature. He hosts the website Paper Republic.^[2]

Awards

• Awarded a PEN Translation Grant for his translation of Wang Xiaobo's My Spiritual Homeland.^[3]
• Awarded a NEA grant for his translation of Xu Zechen's Running Through Beijing.
• Shortlisted for the National Translation Award for his translation of Xu Zechen's Running Through Beijing.
• 2015 - Awarded Special Book Award of China^[4]

Publications

Abrahamsen has translated numerous works of varying lengths, which have been published in The New Yorker, Granta, n+1, and Paper Republic. He also writes about contemporary Chinese literature.

Translations of Novels

• Wang Xiaofang: The Civil Servant's Notebook (2011) 公务员笔记
• Xu Zechen: Running Through Beijing (2013) 跑步穿过中关村

Translations of Short Stories

• A Yi: Barren Land 贫瘠之地
• A Yi: In the Penal Colony 在流放地
• Bi Feiyu: The Deluge 大雨如注
• Bi Feiyu: Wang Village and the World 地球上的王家庄
• Jiang Yitan: China Story 中国故事
• Lu Yang: Silver Tiger 银色老虎
• Lu Yang: Running Around Beijing 在北京奔跑
• Sheng Keyi: An Inexperienced World 缺乏经验的世界
• Su Tong: Watermelon Boats 西瓜船
• Wang Xiaobo: Mister Lover 舅舅情人
• Xu Zechen: A Brief History of Time 时间简史
• Xu Zechen: Outdoor Film 露天电影
• Xu Zechen: Wheels Are Round 轮子是圆的
• Xu Zechen: Visiting Dai on a Snowy Evening 雪夜访戴
• Xu Zechen: The Dog's Been Barking All Day, July, 2017 狗叫了一天
• Zhang Wei: King's Blood 王血
• Zhang Wei: Rain and Snow 下雨下雪

GNU Emacs

In his spare time, Abrahamsen is also a programmer active in Emacs community. He's the author of Org-Translate, an Org-based translation environment. ^[5]

External links

• Paper Republic website
• Eric Abrahamsen profile on Paper Republic
• Eric Abrahamsen profile on Words Without Borders
• Interview with Eric Abrahamsen in World Literature Today (2014)
• Interview with Eric Abrahamsen in SFWP (2015)
• Feature about Abrahamsen in the South China Morning Post (21 Nov 2021)

Notes and References

1. Eric Abrahamsen, Paper Republic website, https://paper-republic.org/ericabrahamsen/
2. Web site: How an American translator pretended to be Chinese for a year online . www.scmp.com . 21 November 2021. 21 Nov 2021.
3. PEN Translation FUnd Announces its 2009 Grant Recipients https://pen.org/press-release/pen-translation-fund-announces-its-2009-grant-recipients/
4. Twenty foreigners win the 9th Special Book Award of China in Beijing, Chinaculture.org, 2015-08-26. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2015-08/26/content_21713779.htm
5. Web site: GNU ELPA - org-translate . 2024 . elpa.gnu.org . GNU Project . 2024-07-04.