Translators live and work in Antwerp: 'The ideal place, an oasis'

Every month two, three or four literary translators from the Dutch language stay in a flat in Antwerp, to work on a book translation. They use the opportunity to meet book-trade professionals, to carry out research and to immerse themselves in Flemish culture. For those who are translating literature from Flanders, encounters with the Flemish dialect also prove exceptionally useful.

Cover The Lives of Jan Six — German translation of ‘The Lives of Jan Six’ by Geert Mak

I’m really very thankful that the Translators’ House offers the chance to stay in the country of the language from which I translate.

Gregor Severens, June 2016

Cover Kaddish for a C*nt — German translation of ‘Kaddish for a C*nt’ by Dimitri Verhulst

A stay in the Translators’ House means that I can work peacefully on my translation for four weeks without financial problems and day-to-day worries.

Rainer Kersten, August 2015

Cover Tonguecat — Bulgarian translation of ‘Tonguecat’ by Peter Verhelst

Unfortunately, given the hectic background to my existence in my own country, I can hardly ever permit myself to translate quietly and in isolation. The Translators’ House is the ideal place, an oasis.

Aneta Dantcheva, May 2015

Cover The Poems — Bulgarian translation of ‘The Poems’ by Herman de Coninck

Because of the well-organized library, I was also able to read translations of a number of Herman de Coninck’s poems in English, German and Serbian.

Boriana Katzarska, April 2015

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