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The Week in Germany: Culture

March 14, 2008

American Translator Awarded Goethe Medal for Promoting Cultural Exchange through German Literature

An American translator will be honored on March 26 in Weimar when he is presented with a Goethe Medal for making German literature accessible to native English speakers.

John E. Woods will receive the award from Goethe-Institut President Jutta Limbach. Medals will also be presented to French Theatre director Bernard Sobel and to Gholam Dastgir Behbud, a German scholar from Afghanistan.

John Woods © photos courtesy of Goethe-Institut

Woods, who translates German language literature into English, receives this distinction for his 30-year career of intermediating between the two languages.

"Of note are the breadth of his translations and the depth of his knowledge of German literature. Woods' translations include Döblin, Raabe, Dürrenmatt, Grass, Ransmayr, Dörrie, Treichel and frequently Thomas Mann and Arno Schmidt," the Goethe-Institut Chicago states on its website.

"John Woods has managed not only to capture Thomas Mann's irony; but, also to do justice to the multiplicity of styles implemented by Schmidt. Especially in America, where the market for literature in translation pales in comparison to the massive machine of English language publications, the success of Wood's translations exemplifies the role that literary translators can play the ambassadors of culture," it adds.

The Goethe-Medaille was created in 1954 by the board or directors of the Goethe-Institut and has been recognized as an official award of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1975. In 1992 the tradition began of presenting the award in Weimar on the day of Goethe's death. The award is presented to non-Germans who have made tremendous strides in promoting the German language and international cultural exchange.

Since the first award in 1955, 317 individuals from 58 different countries have been honored. Among the award recipients are: Pierre Bourdieu, Jorge Semprún, Sir Ernst Gombrich, György Ligeti, Sir Karl Reimund Popper, Billy Wilder and Daniel Barenboim.

Links:

Goethe-Institut Chicago

Daniel Barenboim Awarded a 2007 Goethe Medal for Promoting Intercultural Dialogue through the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (TWIG, March 30, 2007)

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