Hugh Hazelton (born 1946) is an American-born writer and translator, living in Canada and specializing in Latin American works and their interactions with Canadian works. ^[1] He is multilingual and translates French, Spanish, and Portuguese into English. ^[2]

Life

Hazelton was born in Chicago and moved to Canada, specifically Montreal, Quebec, in 1969. ^[3] He lived briefly in Newfoundland and British Columbia but decided to make Montreal his permanent residence. ^[2] He is a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Arts & Science at Concordia University, where he taught for 25 years before retiring in 2012. ^{[2] [4]} While he was teaching at the university, he and his colleagues developed a number of Spanish translation courses. As well as Spanish Translation, Hazelton taught Latin American civilization and the history of the Spanish language. ^[2] Currently, Concordia offers a Bachelor of Arts in either French to English or English to French translation, and Spanish translation is offered as a minor. ^{[5] [6]}

Hazelton spent a number of years working as co-director of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre, where each year 15 literary translators from Canada, the United States, and Mexico participate in a residency program. ^{[7] [8]}

Works

Hazelton has published four books of poetry: Crossing the Chaco (1982), Sunwords (1982), Ojo de papel (1988), and Antimatter (2003). He self-translated Antimatter into Spanish, with the Spanish name Antimateria. ^[9] His 2007 book entitled Latinocanadá: A Critical Study of Ten Latin American Writers of Canada won the Best Book award from the Canadian Association of Hispanists from 2007 to 2009. ^[10]

Translation

Hazelton began his translation career by translating the work of friends in Montreal, and then started translating poetry for literary reviews. ^[2] He often translates the work of Spanish-language writers who have immigrated to Canada. ^[2] Hazelton has translated the work of Aquiles Nazoa, José Acquelin, and Alfonso Quijada Urías, among others. ^{[2] [11]} In 2006, he won the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation for his translation of Vétiver, a book of poems by Joël Des Rosiers. ^[12] The book had previously won two literary awards in Quebec: the Grand Prix du livre de Montréal and the Grand prix Québecor du Festival international de la poésie. ^[13]

Selected translations (English titles)

Among the many works translated by Hugh Hazelton are:

• Vétiver (1999), by Joël Des Rosiers
• The Better to See You (1994), by Alfonso Quijada Urias ^[14]
• Sunset (2002), by Pablo Urbanyi ^[15]
• A Small Nativity (2007), by Aquiles Nazoa ^[16]
• Brunhilda and the Ring (2010), by Jorge Luján ^[17]
• All is Flesh (2012), by Yannick Renaud ^[18]
• The Absolute is a Round Die (2014), by José Acquelin ^[19]

References