Translator Perspectives 翻訳者の目線 2021

There was some concern (e.g., Will people write for it? Do we need to assign a topic for the year? Will anyone find it interesting? Is it sustainable?) when JAT first considered the idea of compiling an anthology of translator thoughts, but the Board was a can-do Board—a why-not Board—and the anthology got its go-ahead. That was ten years ago.

Over the past decade, the anthology has evolved in a number of ways. For one, authorship is now restricted to JAT members. JAT membership represents the industry/profession’s best, so there is no need to look outside and draw in people who have other media outlets anyway. For another, the anthology team has abandoned the idea of editing/altering submissions. If there are potential clients reading, what they see is what they get. For yet another, we have moved increasingly to digital publication. We still do a limited press run for people who want paper, but digital is far and away the main medium. Content has also shifted as the profession copes with—adapts to—technological innovations and changing circumstances.

In all of this, the anthology content has remained resoundingly relevant. This is testimony to the range of people who have written for it. Some are regulars, some are sporadic. Yet all bring fresh insights, suggestions, and stories detailing what they have noticed so that all readers can share the experience and consider new ways to improve their game. It is the authors who make the anthology valuable, and we are immensely grateful to them, one and all.

This year—year ten—is a year of transition. Fred Uleman and Akiko Endo, the two mainstays, what might be called the stagehands helping our authors star on the anthology stage, have decided to retire from the crew. Their excuse: We’ve had a ball doing this, but it is time for us to move on and time for the anthology to grow some more. This means new people are needed to keep this production running smoothly. It is not a big job now that there is no editing, but it is just as essential as the authoring is. Collect the essays, get them to the printer, show authors their galley proofs, and then distribute the product. If you would be interested in keeping this going, please drop Peter a note at anthology [at] jat.org.

Thanks again to all of the authors, Board members, and everyone else who has made the past ten years so rewarding. We look forward to doing new things in the new decade.

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