Tribute to a Translator

There is no doubt that Sheila Fischman, with approximately 150 translated books to her credit, has done the most to create and structure the phenomenon of literary translation in Canada. It is fitting then, with Fischman having reached the venerable age of 75, that McGill-Queen’s University Press decided to publish a tribute to her.

In the academic world, such books are called festschrifts, and usually consist of essays in honour of a retiring professor after a long and illustrious career. This tribute book is a little different. First of all, Fischman is apparently not retiring, since she continues to produce translations at a rate that much younger practitioners would envy. Second, the festschrift is usually a rather formal affair, as suits its academic setting, and In Translation: Honouring Sheila Fischman is anything but formal.

Instead, the book is a patchwork of anecdotal literary history, essays on translation, a few words from the receiver...