Frans Denissen's first literary translation from Italian was published in 1982. His magnum opus 'De leerschool van het lijden', his translation of Gadda's 'La cognizione del dolore' [Acquainted With Grief], appeared in 2011. In the intervening three decades, Denissen produced a body of translation works of an exceptional quality. His translations include the mediaeval classic 'Decamerone' by Giovanni Boccaccio, prose by prominent 20th-century authors such as Leonardo Sciascia, Curzio Malaparte and Umberto Eco, the modernistic masterpieces of Carlo Emilio Gadda and the great poetry of Cesare Pavese and Eugenio Montale.
Denissen's translation work demonstrates not only his precise knowledge of Italian and all its jargons, registers and dialects, but also his unmistakable authorship. He succeeds in lending the Dutch language an extraordinary richness and flexibility. The Martinus Nijhoff Prize jury unanimously decided to recommend Frans Denissen to the board of the Culture Fund for the 2012 Martinus Nijhoff Prize for his carefully built oeuvre of translation work in which the translator has focused on outstanding literary quality. The jury consisted of Ria van Hengel, Cees Koster, Linda Pennings, Annelies Schulte Nordholt and Willem Weststeijn (chair).
The Martinus Nijhoff Prize is the most prestigious Dutch award for translators. The Prince Bernhard Culture Fund has given the award annually since 1955. On 25 February 2012 the Culture Fund is organising the national translation event 'Nederland Vertaalt' [The Netherlands Translates], at which Frans Denissen will be presented with the award.
> You can find more information at the Culture fund website…
> You can find information on the translation event 'Nederland Vertaalt' and the associated competition at the Culture Fund website…
