On this episode of The London Magazine Podcast, we speak to translator and editor Ann Goldstein, renowned for bringing Elena Ferrante’s work to English readers. A former editor at the New Yorker, Goldstein has also translated works by Primo Levi, Jhumpa Lahiri and, most recently, Donatella Di Pietrantonio’s The Brittle Age.

In the episode, we discuss the oxymoron of the ‘celebrated translator’, her early encounters with Italian through Dante and the story of how she became Ferrante’s translator. Goldstein reflects on Ferrante’s unique syntax and style, as well as the broader challenges of Italian–English translation.

Timestamps

• 0.45 - The oxymoron of the ‘celebrated translator’
• 2.44 - Dante, Italian language lessons and the New Yorker
• 6.31 - Elena Ferrante: how it started
• 8.05 - Ferrante’s style, syntax and appeal
• 11.10 - Ann’s translation process: method vs instinct
• 14.58 - Translating difficult subject matter
• 16.09 - Technical problems in Italian–English translation
• 23.09 - The ‘gold standard’ of translation?
• 25.00 - Dealing with Ferrante fanatics

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