Another award for Nordistics in the Czech Republic – Jarka Vrbová chosen as Translator of the month
18.04.2017 / 12:36 | Aktualizováno: 19.04.2017 / 21:29
(This article expired 30.06.2017 / 12:33.)
The Czech translator from Norwegian Jarka Vrbová has been chosen by NORLA (Norwegian Literature Abroad) as Translator of the April 2017. Three of her new translations will be published this spring in the Czech Republic.
Every month, NORLA chooses one translator from Norwegian for their interview series „Translator of the month“. April 2017 has become of importance for the Czech translators’ community as the one chosen by NORLA is Jarka Vrbová, a skilled translator and a teacher at Charles University in Prague. In 2009, Vrbová received the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit from the Norwegian King Harald V for her remarkable contribution to the Norwegian-Czech cultural and literature relations.
Her passion for the Norwegian literature was formed already in her teens, when she read the historical trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset and was thrilled by it. Vrbová studied English and Norwegian at the Charles University in Prague, where she has worked since 1990 as a teacher at the Department of Germanic Studies. She translates not only from Norwegian, but also from Swedish and English. She has dedicated a significant part of her work to translating books by for example Jostein Gaarder and Astrid Lindgren. Vrbová reviews the Nordic literature as - to a certain degree - mystical and melancholic, so that not many words are needed to describe the atmosphere which contains so much more. Among other things, this feature is very important for the translator.
This spring, three books translated by Jarka Vrbová will be published in the Czech Republic, namely The Puppeteer by Jostein Gaarder, In High Places by Henrik Svensen and Small keys, large rooms by Bjørg Vik. The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Oslo wishes to the translator continued success.