My translation of H.P. Lovecraft (collected works) is out...

[KyriakosCH]

It might help my career as literary translator (English to Greek), given the publishing house is quite big and this will be a series of 15 books.

I hope it sells ok. Already had some issues with the editor. I hate editors

The cover is quite nice:

[Blondbraid]

Indeed, it's a great use of corals! 

[KyriakosCH]

Indeed, it's a great use of corals! 

Yes ^_^

I think it will form a huge image along with the other 14 covers of the series.
Lovecraft usually places the unknown entities below the sea, hence the corals.

[WHAM]

I like it! Hope it works out well!

When you translate Lovecraft to Greek, do you translate it into a modern, clean greek or do you try to preserve the somewhat archaic language Lovecraft wrote in?
I've seen Finnish translations of both kinds, and the printed-in-the-50's translation that used really old-timey and archaic finnish wording to suit the source material was really interesting (and also challenging) read.

[KyriakosCH]

I like it! Hope it works out well!

When you translate Lovecraft to Greek, do you translate it into a modern, clean greek or do you try to preserve the somewhat archaic language Lovecraft wrote in?
I've seen Finnish translations of both kinds, and the printed-in-the-50's translation that used really old-timey and archaic finnish wording to suit the source material was really interesting (and also challenging) read.

I wanted to keep some of the original feel. Sadly most publishers don't care at all for that, or rather actively speak against it.
They mostly care about not having repetition of words. Which is funny, when the text is Lovecraft, but it's not my decision 

[WHAM]

I wanted to keep some of the original feel. Sadly most publishers don't care at all for that, or rather actively speak against it.
They mostly care about not having repetition of words. Which is funny, when the text is Lovecraft, but it's not my decision 

Yeah, I can imagine that being a challenge nowadays. A lot of work by Lovecraft would need to be cleaned up and condensed to fit modern publishing standards, but that kind of defeats the point of a translation, and can turn the work into more of an adaptation.
Still, as they say in R'lyeh: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!"

[KyriakosCH]

^Exactly.
And it becomes even worse when the editor has never read the original English text.

That said, Lovecraft's writing style isn't good. Apart from a few stories (very notably the Outsider) his style is convoluted and the opposite of "flowing". Yet most publishers/editors only want flowing text, as if this was written originally in Greek. I try to do that, but it takes more time because after the actual translation i have to "adapt" it as you said.

Poe is far superior in writing style, and therefore i had less problems there

[Danvzare]

Congratulations! 
I hope it sells well and leads to many opportunities for you in the future.

What led you to translate H.P. Lovecraft's work? How did you manage to land the job?
I'd love to know. 

[KyriakosCH]

Lovecraft (the entire body of work) wasn't my idea, but the publisher's... I originally met him when i sold him my Poe translation (four stories) and then got a contract to translate Stevenson's Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Now i have finished that, and four of the 15 volumes of Lovecraft...

I hope the collection does well. I could use some minor fame it may grant so as to secure more work and a serious publisher for my own writing.
That said, unlike my Poe translation (or even my Washington Irving translation of Sleepy Hollow) Lovecraft isn't really that close to my style and there are other issues as well (mostly time and not great pay). But we will see

[Mandle]

Aren't there already Greek translations of Lovecraft?!

[KyriakosCH]

Yes. There are two. One of the reasons why it wasn't my idea to translate the complete works. But it's not like i would turn down contracts for 15 books...

That said, i wanted the translation to retain some of the style, so that it would be significantly different from the previous one (the oldest one is very bad anyway, so no one cares about it, but there was one out a decade or so ago, which was decent).
Sadly such things cannot be decided by the translator alone. Usually the editor (with the backing of the publisher) decides.
I do try to make the best of it, of course. Lovecraft is convoluted even in his native english, and has several stylistic faults. Not even i would suggest that all repetitions are kept (he manages to use the same word, eg 'furtive', over 50 times in the Shadow over Innsmouth, though maybe that is partly because he never got round to editing that story so as to submit). I wouldn't try to use some archaic term to translate stuff like "eldritch" and "gibbous" either, cause i know the editor wouldn't like it.

All in all i think it will be a good series. More than likely it will end up being the current best (also due to higher aesthetic value of the print).

[Kweepa]

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but it's disappointing that the editor of a series of translations of a famous author wouldn't want to capture the feel of the original, given that feel is all that is really respected about the original. Lovecraft's plots are generally nonsensical, the writing is not literary, it's not progressive...
I don't know what your background is (or the background of the editor) but perhaps if you discussed your approach with a professor from a local university you could get them to support your ideal translation. I would imagine they'd love to talk about it and would love to help get a good translation out there.
Or, is there a Greek horror book forum? These would be the target audience and would also provide support to convince the editor.
Translation is not a job that brings you fame and fortune, but it's your name that is going to be attached to these translations (in however small print) so having this editor decide how it should read without knowing the source material is just wrong.
Congratulations and good luck!

[KyriakosCH]

Thanks

Yes, generally it is hard to communicate with most editors, particularly when they are used to a set style (which, again, is most editors ).

I think the series will be ok, though not my best work. The Poe or Irving translations are imo considerably better, cause there i had full liberty to do what i wanted. The authors themselves are better as well, imo. Lovecraft isn't a hack, but he has various issues with his writing.

In the end the person deciding is the one paying; can't argue with that.

[Danvzare]

Lovecraft isn't really that close to my style

Really?
I always figured you'd be a big fan of Lovecraft, considering your viewpoints on horror.
Or do you mean writing style? In which case, I completely understand. 

[Ali]

Lovecraft isn't a hack, but he has various issues with his writing.

Yeah, I was wondering about this. Lovecraft has an exceptional horror imagination, but he's not really a particularly good writer. (Or at least, he wasn't to begin with.) Translating his over-wrought prose and phrases like, "nighted, penguin-fringed abyss," must be quite frustrating.

[KyriakosCH]

Lovecraft isn't really that close to my style

Really?
I always figured you'd be a big fan of Lovecraft, considering your viewpoints on horror.
Or do you mean writing style? In which case, I completely understand. 

Yes I like some of his ideas, and in his letters and treatise on 'weird literature' you can see he at least was trying to examine how to cause an uncanny sense. Hack writers rely on chance and instinct (it can work at times; Stephen King has some powerful short stories, but imo usually he is a hack) while Lovecraft tried to study his approach.
My writing style is closer to Kafka, though my thematology and approach is very different, and i do have some elements of Lovecraft too. I like Poe and de Maupassant for a more direct approach (and Poe wrote beautifully in English). Lovecraft rarely has stylistic merit; maybe in a few shorter stories only, eg The Outsider.

Lovecraft isn't a hack, but he has various issues with his writing.

Yeah, I was wondering about this. Lovecraft has an exceptional horror imagination, but he's not really a particularly good writer. (Or at least, he wasn't to begin with.) Translating his over-wrought prose and phrases like, "nighted, penguin-fringed abyss," must be quite frustrating.

Indeed. Though even if i tried to approximate it more (corpse-eating fireflies is another good one) the editor wouldn't let it stay 

[Blondbraid]

Lovecraft isn't a hack, but he has various issues with his writing.

Yeah, I was wondering about this. Lovecraft has an exceptional horror imagination, but he's not really a particularly good writer. (Or at least, he wasn't to begin with.) Translating his over-wrought prose and phrases like, "nighted, penguin-fringed abyss," must be quite frustrating.

I actually don't remember having any difficulties with Lovecraft's works when reading them in English, but then again, I had no problem following the plot of Final Fantasy XIII, so I suppose I'm not the best to judge on weather something is convoluted.

Anyway, I'm actually grateful for Lovecraft using a lot of purple prose, because his descriptions of the titular mountains in At the Mountains of Madness
and comparing them to the paintings of Nicholas Roerich is what introduced me to one of my absolute favorite artists.

[KyriakosCH]

Very nice paintings

Imo Lovecraft's imagination, as was said, was his strongest point. Use of language isn't particularly inviting. Juxtaposing with other famous New England authors:
-Poe writes far more elegantly (he has his own shortcomings, but not in style)
-W. Irving is imo far better than Lovecraft in describing nature with the same intention (to make it appear uncanny).

[Danvzare]

Stephen King has some powerful short stories, but imo usually he is a hack

In my opinion, Stephen King is an exceptional writer, but a terrible story teller.
To better explain this, Lovecraft is an incredible story teller but a terrible writer.

I've yet to find someone who is a master at both skills. But then again, the number of books I've read is only in the double digits. So there's bound to be someone out there.

[KyriakosCH]

You might like E.T.A. Hoffmann or Guy de Maupassant

Try (eg) Hoffmann's The Sandman (something i also have translated  )