Two of the most successful Japanese novels of the past few years that have been translated into English are Hiromi Kawakami¡¯s ¡°The Briefcase¡± and Fuminori Nakamura¡¯s ¡°Last Winter, We Parted.¡± Both were translated by Allison Markin Powell, a literary translator and editor based in New York.
Her distinguished career includes translating Osamu Dazai¡¯s ¡°Schoolgirl,¡± so it¡¯s somewhat surprising to learn that Japanese is her third language.
¡°I studied French in grade school,¡± says Powell in an interview with The Japan Times. ¡°When we read ¡®The Little Prince¡¯ I was intrigued by the notion of translating literature. But when I got to college I wanted to start a new language. Japanese was a bit of an arbitrary decision but it worked out well ¡ª the literature is so vast and profound.¡±
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