Anthologies of contemporary Kazakh literature in English are on display in British Library
The presentation of two anthologies of contemporary Kazakh poetry and prose in English took place at the British Library, Strategy2050.kz informs.
The translation and publication of the collections of Kazakh literature in English were made by the Cambridge University’s publishing house with the participation of the seasoned British translators. Their preambles were written by the reputable representatives of the contemporary academic community of Britain, including Sir Ciarán Devane, Chief Executive at the British Council, who contributed to a preamble to the anthology of contemporary Kazakh prose, and the author of a preamble to the collection of contemporary Kazakh poetry is Literature Professor Jason Harding.
The anthologies of Kazakh poetry and prose in English published by the Cambridge University’s publishing house are on display in the largest library of the world, and will be presented in over 8 thousand libraries, universities and scientific centres of Great Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other countries where English is spoken.
The heads of the British Council, the University of Cambridge, the British Library, translators, book editors, critics and observers were in attendance. The Kazakh side was represented by Aida Balayeva, Assistant to the Kazakh President, Secretary of the National Commission for the Implementation of the Rukhani Zhangyru Porgramme, Yerlan Idrissov, Kazakh Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Great Britain, Rauan Kenzhekhanuly, Executive Director at the National Translations Bureau, Akberen Yelgezek, Deputy Chairwoman of Kazakhstan’s Union of Authors.
The translation of a compendium of contemporary Kazakh literature to 6 languages of the UN is carried out as part of the project “Contemporary Kazakh culture in the global world”. The project, in its turn, is part of the Rukhani Zhangyru programme, initiated by first Kazakh President – National Leader Nursultan Nazarbayev. The project aims at bringing the achievements of a modern Kazakhstan in literature, music and art, choreography, cinema and theatre to the world.
In her speech, Aida Balayeva dwelled on the project.
“Our project is part of the spiritual modernization programme Rukhani Zhangyru, proposed by first Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in April 2017. Its core idea is that a cultural and intellectual potential establishes any nation’s competitiveness in the modern world. Today’s presentation is the outcome of the work on the project “Contemporary Kazakh culture in the global world,” aiming at presenting the Kazakh achievements in literature, music, art, theatre and cinema in all continents. I am certain that the project will be extremely useful and will carry on systematically thus turning into a more intensive intercultural dialogue”, she said.
Aida Balayeva also emphasized that firstly 60 Kazakh authors’ collected works were rendered into the six UN main languages as part of the Rukhani Zhangyru. The project was possible with participation of the leading publishing organizations of Great Britain, France, Spain, Egypt, China and Russia.
“They will be distributed in over 90 countries in 5 continents, thus 2.6 billion people will have access to best Kazakh literature. The high appraisal of the quality of the publications by the experts is thanks to our friends from the publishing houses of the University of Cambridge and the British Council. I, on behalf of Kazakhstan and our authors, express our sincere appreciation to our partners”, she said.
About the project. The translation of two anthologies of contemporary Kazakh literature is made as part of the project “Contemporary Kazakh Culture in the Global World”, which is one of the focuses of the Rukhani Zhangyru porgramme. They are “An anthology of contemporary Kazakh poetry” and “An anthology of contemporary Kazakh prose”. Each anthology extends over a total of some 500 pages, includes collected works of 30 Kazakh authors.
The British Council is the strategic partner of the project’s translation and publication part, that also provides expert support to the project. The Cambridge University Press is a key partner-publisher, which in partnership with the National Translations Bureau carried out the works on adaptation, prepublication, publication, distribution as well as their presentation and promotion in English-speaking countries.
