Interview with Bulgarian-English self-translator Michael Penkov

The Rumpus published a very interesting interview with the Bulgarian-English self-translator Michael Penkov, who has self-translated his short story collection, East of the West as well as recently his new novel Stork Mountain into Bulgarian.

Penkov talks with Christine Pivovar about why he started self-translating, about the textual genesis of his works and about the use of languages during the creation process. As many other writers, Penkov refuses to label his bilingual writing "translation":

"I wouldn’t call it a translation because that would be disrespectful to literary translators throughout the world who try to stay true to the author’s work. I took great liberties with my sentences."

"The two versions are true to each other, meaning you wouldn’t think it’s a completely different book, but there was definitely a moment of rebirth."

To read the complete interview, please click here.