Radoš Kosović - Translator of the Month
October’s translator of the month is Serbian Radoš Kosović (b. 1984) who translates from Norwegian and Danish. He has translated over fifty works in various genres, primarily novels, but he has also translated philosophy, drama, children and young adult’s books and a collection of poems. In 2015 he received the Aleksandar I. Spasić Award for Translating Non-fiction for Lars Fr. H. Svendsen’s A Philosophy of Freedom (Geopoetika, 2013), as well as the Miloš N. Đurić Award for Best Translation of Fictional Prose for Merethe Lindström’s Days in the History of Silence (Geopoetika, 2015). Radoš is a member of the Serbian Translators’ Association (UKPS) and sits on the jury for the Ljubiša Rajić Award for Best Debut Translation, which supports talented young translators. He has a master’s degree in Nordic languages and literature at the University of Agder in Kristiansand. He lives in Belgrade.
In our interview, we asked Radoš how he approaches a translation:
Do you get straight into the translating to maintain some tension in relation to the text, or do you read the whole book thoroughly beforehand?
It depends on the book, but usually I go straight to the translating. I think translation is the most intimate encounter you can have with a text. When it comes to reading there is nothing more thorough than the translation process itself – that’s how it is for me at least. As a student, I would sometimes translate a shorter text or an extract to understand it better, that is, not purely on a linguistic level.
Those of you who understand Norwegian can read Radoš’ Translator of the Month interview in full here.
Read more
Learn more about Radoš on Books from Norway.
Other translators interviewed in our Translator of the Month series.
