French First To Commend Ukrainian Translators

For already ten years now the French Embassy in Ukraine has been carrying out its Skovoroda Program to assist publishing. This program provides financial support for Ukrainian publishers, translating and publishing in Ukrainian books by famous French classics and contemporary authors. This year, the embassy introduced a special prize for translators, wishing to commend their contribution to the program, due to which about 100 titles of new books have appeared in Ukraine. According to the award conditions, the sum of 1500 francs can be divided in two parts: for the translation of a literary work and work in the social sciences and humanities.

In anticipation of Catholic Christmas, French Ambassador Pascal Fieschi and the chairman of the jury, Prix Goncourt laureate Jean Rouault announced the first two prize winners’ names: Oleh Khoma, translator of Rousseau’s Social Contract (Port Royal Publishers), and Anatol Perepadia, translator of seven volumes of the most famous novel by Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past (Universe).

At the official ceremony Ambassador Fieschi emphasized that the translators had been selected “within the context of mutual cooperation of cultures.”

Jean Rouault added ironically, “the jury commended the works of two very young translators of French literature.”

In addition to traditional expressions of thanks the moved and happy prizewinners told their stories connected with the translation of the works. Young Vinnytsia native Oleh Khoma (a self-described philosopher and conservator) succeeded in composing commentary notes to the book, owing to his two months at the National Library of France. Anatol Perepadia began his speech by saying, “Valerian Pidmohylny got a bullet in his head for his desire to translate Proust into Ukrainian, but today I am getting an award.”

The publishers, translators, and journalists invited to the ceremony almost unanimously agreed with the jury’s Solomonic decision (the jury consisted of two representatives from France and two from Ukraine), which had quite some difficulty. For the first time they had to choose from fifteen brilliant books only two. Thus, translations from French have now become a pattern of exquisite literary style in Ukraine and due to them the foundation for developing scholarly and scientific cooperation has been already laid.