Vertaalprofiel van David McKay

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Uit het Nederlands in het:

Engels

Over mij

David McKay was born and raised in the United States, holds degrees in philosophy (B.A., Swarthmore, High Honors), linguistics (M.Sc., MIT), and international relations (M.A., Webster, Honors), and has lived in The Hague since 1997.

He translates a wide range of books and shorter works, including fiction, literary and popular non-fiction, poetry, and theater. His work has been described as “dazzlingly lyrical” (Neel Mukherjee, The Guardian).

His other professional activities include evaluating translation quality for various organizations and mentoring emerging translators. He is the ALTA Dutch-English Mentor for the second time in 2023 and is proud to have mentored Eileen Stevens, Kristen Gehrman, Sarah Timmer Harvey, Lucy Scott, Scott Emblen-Jarrett, and most recently Bo-Elise Brummelkamp. Lucy Scott’s translation of Astrid Roemer’s On a Woman’s Madness, with David as mentor, was a finalist for the National Book Award 2023.

He was awarded the Vondel Prize for his translation of the historical novel War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans (Harvill Secker/Pantheon), which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize International, shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award, and featured on top ten lists by major American and British newspapers. His English edition of Hertmans’s novel The Convert was a finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Awards. His recent translation of Hertmans’s The Ascent has garnered excellent reviews in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. David has also served as a judge for a variety of translation prizes.

He co-translated, with Ina Rilke, the new English edition (NYRB Classics, 2019) of Multatuli's classic critique of colonialism, Max Havelaar, the most influential work in the history of Dutch literature, which was shortlisted for the Oxford Weidenfeld Prize in 2020. His translation of Adrift in the Middle Kingdom, a classic existential adventure novel by J. Slauerhoff, was the runner-up for the Vondel Prize 2022.

His recent work includes the long-awaited English translation of Anton de Kom’s anti-colonial manifesto We Slaves of Suriname (Polity Books), for which he received an ICM Global South Translation Fellowship 2021 from Cornell University. Renowned author China Miéville chose We Slaves of Suriname as his book of the year for 2022: “An astounding work of lyrical fury … De Kom is a towering radical and anticolonial figure, and this book a painful masterpiece.” A room in the renovated Translator’s House in Amsterdam has been named after Anton de Kom. See also David’s blog about the book here: https://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/entry/2998/blog-david-mckay.

He is enthusiastic about creative collaboration, and two of his co-translations were published in 2024: Revolusi, a groundbreaking history of the Indonesian Revolution and its worldwide impact, with award-winning translator David Colmer, for Bodley Head, and Off White by the acclaimed author Astrid Roemer, a novel about three generations of a Surinamese family that explores the links between national, individual, and family trauma, for Two Lines Press, with National Book Award finalist Lucy Scott.

He is looking into the impact of generative AI models such as ChatGPT on literary translation and was the co-organizer, with Lisa Dillman, of a round table on the subject for the 2023 ALTA conference.

 

  • Revolusi

    By David Van Reybrouck. Co-translated with David Colmer. Published by The Bodley Head in the UK and Norton in the United States.

  • Off-White

    By Astrid Roemer. Co-translated with Lucy Scott. Published by Two Lines in the United States and Tilted Axis in the UK.

  • The Ascent

    Jaar

  • We Slaves of Suriname

    Jaar
    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

  • Bold Ventures: Thirteen Tales of Artistic Tragedy

    Jaar
    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

  • The Just

    Jaar
    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

  • The Aunts

    Jaar
    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    This seriocomic Flemish novella from the 1930s is reminiscent of D.H. Lawrence in its use of dialect and its insistence on embracing love and life. Published by Snuggly Books, an American press specializing in naturalist and decadent literature.

  • How to Find a Higgs Boson

    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    How to Find a Higgs Boson by Ivo van Vulpen. Published by Yale University Press, 2020.

  • Adrift in the Middle Kingdom

    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Adrift in the Middle Kingdom by J. Slauerhoff. Published by Handheld Press, 2019.

  • Hockney: The Joy of Nature

    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Hockney: The Joy of Nature by Hans den Hartog Jager. Published in connection with the Hockney exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, 2019.

  • The Convert

    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    The Convert by Stefan Hertmans. Published by Harvill Secker (UK) and Vintage (US) in 2019.

  • Rineke Dijkstra: The Louisiana Book

    Rineke Dijkstra: The Louisiana Book, by Hans den Hartog Jager, 2018.

  • The Metrical Footstep

    Brontaal
    Fries
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    The Metrical Footstep, a bilingual chapbook of poems by Frisian authors carved into stone in public spaces in Leeuwarden. Contributed various translations of 19th and 20th-century poems from Dutch and Frisian.

  • Poems by M. Vasalis in various journals

    Including Modern Poetry in Translation. Some translations available online:

    https://thehighwindowpress.com/2017/06/03/dutch-poetry/#Vasalis

    http://www.verseville.org/m-vasalis.html

    https://www.poetryinternational.org/pi/poet/30159/M-Vasalis/en/tile

    https://thelochravenreview.net/seven-dutch-poets-maria-barnas-hagar-peeters-ester-naomi-perquin-alfred-schaffer-mustafa-stitou-m-vasalis-and-menno-wigman/

  • Max Havelaar

    Brontaal
    Engels
    Doeltaal
    Nederlands

    Max Havelaar by Multatuli (with Ina Rilke). Published by NYRB Classics. Shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize 2020.

  • Swallows and Floating Horses: An Anthology of Frisian Literature

    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Swallows and Floating Horses: An Anthology of Frisian Literature, Francis Boutle Publishers, 2018. Contributed poetry and prose selections spanning many centuries and including poems by the great Frisian Renaissance writer Gysbert Japicx.

  • The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories

    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    The Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories, ed. Joost Zwagerman. Published by Penguin Modern Classics in 2016. Contributed stories by Arthur van Schendel, W.H. Hotz, Frans Kellendonk, and Thomas Rosenboom.

  • What Am I Now But Silence

    Brontaal
    Nederlands
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    What Am I Now But Silence: Ghosts' Stories by Roos van Rijswijk. Bilingual chapbook published by the Jan van Eyck Academie, 2017.

  • War and Turpentine

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Translation of the novel Oorlog en terpentijn by Stefan Hertmans (winner of the Flemish Community Award for Literature in 2014, nominated for other major prizes), to be published by Random House/Harvill Secker in 2015. Based on the true story of the author's grandfather and the diaries he kept as a Flemish soldier in the First World War.

    Prizes and nominations for War and Turpentine
    Winner, AKO Prize for Literature, the Netherlands, 2014
    Longlisted, Man Booker Prize, United Kingdom, 2017
    Longlisted, Best Translated Book Award, United States, 2017
    Shortlisted, Three Percent, Best Translated Book Award, United States, 2017
    Longlisted, International Dublin Literary Award, Ireland, 2018
    No. 1 on the Independent’s List of Best Translated Fiction 2017
    A London Times Book of the Year
    An Economist Book of the Year
    An Irish Times Book of the Year
    A New York Times Top 10 Book of the Year
    Vondel Translation Prize 2017

  • Everything to Nothing

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Translation of Europa, Europa by Geert Buelens (winner of the ABN-AMRO Prize for best Flemish non-fiction book of 2009), published by Verso in autumn 2015. A history of the First World War through the lens of the poets involved in it. Includes a number of original translations of excerpts from Dutch-language poems.

  • Various non-fiction books

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Independent and joint translations of various English books and articles on art, architecture, design, planning, and history, for publishers including NAi/010, Brill, and Boom/SUN. Titles include Cees Dam (NAi/010), Aldo Bakker (NAi/010), Jan Schoonhoven (NAi/010), Highlights from the Collection of the Jewish Cultural Quarter (Walburg Press), the Design and Politics series (010), European Architecture Since 1890 (SUN), The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam (W Books), The Temptations of Flora (Waanders), The Mosque (NAi), Istanbul (De Nieuwe Kerk), The Bloemaert Effect (Imhof), and The Khardzhiev Collection (NAi/010 and the Stedelijk Museum).

  • Various works of fiction for major Dutch authors

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Translations in this category include the novella Two Women for Marcel Möring, the novella The Galvano for Stijn van der Loo, and various short stories for Naema Tahir. The translations were made at the request of the authors.

  • The Tulip Virus

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Translation of the literary thriller Het Tulpenvirus by Daniëlle Hermans. Published by St. Martin's Press (Macmillan)/Allen & Unwin. 

  • Poems used in larger works

    Jaar

    Besides the excerpts translated in Europe, O Europe and Servants of the Kingdom, this category includes poems translated for Susan Massotty's prize-winning translation of My Father's Notebook by Kader Abdola, Barbara Fasting's translation of Unknown Destination by Maya Rasker, the anthology The European Constitution in Verse, exhibitions at the Van Gogh Museum, and Poetry International (subtitles). Authors include Nicolaas Beets, Willem Bilderdijk, Jan Jacob Slauerhoff, J.C. Bloem, Pieter Nicolaas van Eyck, F. Starik, and Menno Wigman.

  • Samples from literary works for the NLF, the VLF, and Dutch publishers

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Samples from literary works translated at various times, at the request of the Netherlands Literature Foundation, Flemish Literature Fund, and Dutch publishers and used for promotional purposes. Authors include Oek de Jong, Hugo Claus, Nelleke Noordervliet, Nicolette Smabers, Martijn Knol, Anne-Gine Goemans, Marente de Moor, Martin Bossenbroek, Stijn van der Loo, Paul Scheffer, and Naema Tahir.

  • Stories in literary magazines

    Jaar

    Translation of "The Ohio Hat" by Anton Valens, to be published in Words Without Borders in 2015.
    Translation of "Lili's Loves" by Louis Couperus, published in Two Lines Online in 2013: http://catranslation.org/content/lilis-loves.
    Joint translation with Barbara Fasting of "The Grandfather" by Louis Couperus, published in Metamorphoses in 2013.

  • Short stories for the Radio Books series

    Jaar

    Stories by Abdelkader Benali and Nelleke Noordervliet. The Benali story was also picked up and rebroadcast by the BBC.

  • 17th-century essay in "Secret Memoirs of the Shoguns: Isaac Titsingh and Japan, 1779-1822"

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Translation of Isaac Titsingh's Philosophical Discourse, an 18th-century Dutch essay, for this non-fiction book by Timon Screech, published by Routledge.

  • Servants of the Kingdom

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Translation of In dienst van het Koninkrijk by David Bos. Published by Brill. Includes original translations of numerous excerpts from 18th and 19th-century Dutch prose and poetry. 

  • Styles of Knowing: A New History of Science from Ancient Times to the Present

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Translation of De ontdekking van het weten bij Chunglin Kwa. Published by University of Pittsburgh Press.

  • City of Books/Een stad vol boeken

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Bilingual edition of this book by Nelleke Noordervliet, jointly translated with Beverley Jackson for Nieuw Amsterdam.

  • The Encyclopedia of Fictional Artists

    Jaar
    Doeltaal
    Engels

    Coordinated and contributed to this four-translator project. Translation of Encyclopedie van fictieve kunstenaars, various authors, edited by Koen Brams. A collection of short biographies of artist characters in works of fiction. Published by JRP-Ringier.