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Alumni Spotlight: Meg Matich awarded National Endowment for the Arts Literary Translation Fellowship

Alumni Spotlight: Meg Matich awarded National Endowment for the Arts Literary Translation Fellowship

by Public Relations | March 19, 2024

LATROBE, PA – Meg Matich, C’11, was recently awarded the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Literary Translation Fellowship. The fellowship will support Matich as she translates  Greenlandic author Niviaq Korneliussen’s novel “The Valley of Flowers” into English.040-Meg-Matich.png

When she learned the news, Matich explained that she was in disbelief before being “filled with so much joy and gratitude” for the opportunity NEA provided her. “The Valley of Flowers” revolves around post-colonial trauma, survival, depression, grief and self-harm; in translating this work, Matich aims to “help to save lives—one life, two lives, a dozen,” she continued. “That it will speak to someone's soul and tell them they are not alone, and they do belong in this world.” She aims for this project to reach the “far corners of the Earth.”  

“The Valley of Flowers” is the first novel Matich read in its entirety in Danish. Given her background in German and Icelandic, she decided to give Danish—and reading the novel—a try despite her uncertainty. Moved by the structure, language and powerful descriptions in the book, she felt motivated to take on the project.

“I knew this was what I wanted to translate almost from the moment I cracked the book open,” Matich explained, “but it's hard to take that leap from one language, one culture to another. But being uncomfortable, allowing ourselves to be in uncertain situations where we're not perfectly balanced or experienced, is how we grow the most. I live for those challenges, situations—those moments of discomfort and personal growth.”

After graduating from Saint Vincent College with her bachelor’s degree in English and German Language, Meg Matich received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Literary Translation from Columbia University. Matich’s first book, “Cold Moons” by Magnús Sigurðsson, is currently taught in universities across North America and Europe. Apart from her numerous literary publications, she also runs a one-woman literary translation and marketing consultancy.

Matich is open to working one-on-one with SVC students interested in beginning or growing careers in literary translation and publishing. To contact Matich and learn more about her and her publications, visit https://www.meglenska.is/.

NEA is an independent federal agency established by Congress in 1965. The agency remains the “largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide,” and it encourages the support of the arts in both public and private settings. The agency’s various grants and fellowships aid in accomplishing its mission of fostering and sustaining the arts. To learn more about NEA, visit https://www.arts.gov .

 

-Madison Kozera, English major, of Abingdon, MD

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