Patricia Claxton
Encyclopedia
Patricia Claxton is an award
-winning Canadian
translator
, primarily of Quebec literature.
A native of Kingston
, Ontario
, Patricia Claxton spent most of her childhood in India
. Upon returning to Canada, she has made Montreal
, Quebec
's largest city, and Canada's second-largest, her permanent residence. She attended the city's McGill University
, where she received a Bachelor of Arts
degree, and the Université de Montréal
, where she earned a Master's degree
in translation. She later taught translation at the Université de Montréal for eight years.
She was also founding President of the Literary Translators' Association of Canada
and served on the board of the Ordre des traducteurs et interprètes agréés du Québec
.
The literature of Gabrielle Roy
has played a major role in Patricia Claxton's prominence in the field of translation. In 1987, she won her first Governor General's Award for French to English translation
for her work on Roy's La Detresse et l'Enchantment, which she translated as Enchantment and Sorrow, and her second award, in 1999, was for translating François Ricard's biography of Roy. Her other notable translations include Un dimanche à la piscine à Kigali
(A Sunday at the pool in Kigali), for which she was a finalist in the 2003 Governor General's Awards
and shortlisted for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
in 2004.
Authors she has translated include Nicole Brossard
, Jacques Godbout
, Jacques Hébert
, Naïm Kattan
, André Major, Fernand Ouellet
, Gérard Pelletier
, François Ricard, André Roy
, Gabrielle Roy
, France Théoret, Pierre-Elliott Trudeau and Marcel Trudel.
Governor General's Award for French to English translation
This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation.-1980s:*1987: Patricia Claxton, Enchantment and Sorrow: The Autobiography of Gabrielle Roy*1988: Philip Stratford, Second Chance...
-winning Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, primarily of Quebec literature.
A native of Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Patricia Claxton spent most of her childhood in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Upon returning to Canada, she has made Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's largest city, and Canada's second-largest, her permanent residence. She attended the city's McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
, where she received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree, and the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
, where she earned a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in translation. She later taught translation at the Université de Montréal for eight years.
She was also founding President of the Literary Translators' Association of Canada
Literary Translators' Association of Canada
The Literary Translators' Association of Canada is an association of literary translators from across Canada....
and served on the board of the Ordre des traducteurs et interprètes agréés du Québec
Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec
The Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec is a professional order representing translators, terminologists and interpreters in Quebec. As a professional order, the OTTIAQ provides its members with a "reserved title": Certified Translator , or, in French, traducteur...
.
The literature of Gabrielle Roy
Gabrielle Roy
Gabrielle Roy, CC, FRSC was a French Canadian author.- Biography :Born in Saint Boniface , Manitoba, Roy was educated at Saint Joseph's Academy...
has played a major role in Patricia Claxton's prominence in the field of translation. In 1987, she won her first Governor General's Award for French to English translation
Governor General's Award for French to English translation
This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation.-1980s:*1987: Patricia Claxton, Enchantment and Sorrow: The Autobiography of Gabrielle Roy*1988: Philip Stratford, Second Chance...
for her work on Roy's La Detresse et l'Enchantment, which she translated as Enchantment and Sorrow, and her second award, in 1999, was for translating François Ricard's biography of Roy. Her other notable translations include Un dimanche à la piscine à Kigali
Un dimanche à la piscine à Kigali
A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali is the first novel by Montreal author Gil Courtemanche, originally published in 2000....
(A Sunday at the pool in Kigali), for which she was a finalist in the 2003 Governor General's Awards
2003 Governor General's Awards
The 2003 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on November 12. Each winner received a cheque for $15,000.-Fiction:*Douglas Glover, Elle*Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake*Elizabeth Hay, Garbo Laughs...
and shortlisted for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize is a Canadian literary award presented by Rogers Communications and the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries....
in 2004.
Authors she has translated include Nicole Brossard
Nicole Brossard
Nicole Brossard, O.C. is a leading French Canadian formalist poet and novelist.She lives in Outremont, a former city in Montreal, Quebec. She wrote her first collection in 1965, Aube à la maison. The collection L'Echo bouge beau marks a break in the evolution of her poetry...
, Jacques Godbout
Jacques Godbout
Jacques Godbout, CQ is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler , Godbout has become one of the most important writers of his generation, with a major influence on post-1960 Quebec intellectual life.-Biography:Born in...
, Jacques Hébert
Jacques Hébert
Jacques René Hébert was a French journalist, and the founder and editor of the extreme radical newspaper Le Père Duchesne during the French Revolution...
, Naïm Kattan
Naïm Kattan
Naïm Kattan, is a Canadian novelist, essayist and critic of Iraqi Jewish origin.Born in Baghdad, Iraq, he studied at the University of Baghdad from 1945 until 1947 and at the Sorbonne from 1947 until 1951. He emigrated to Montreal in 1954...
, André Major, Fernand Ouellet
Fernand Ouellet
Not to be confused with Fernand Ouellette, a Quebecois poet and essayist.Fernand Ouellet, OC, FRSC , a French-Canadian author and educator, was educated at Université Laval and gained a PhD in 1965...
, Gérard Pelletier
Gérard Pelletier
Gérard Pelletier, PC, CC worked as a journalist for Le Devoir, a French-language newspaper in Montreal, Quebec. In 1961 he became editor-in-chief of the Montreal daily and North America's largest French circulating newspaper, La Presse...
, François Ricard, André Roy
André Roy
André Roy is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey player. A veteran of the National Hockey League , Roy is currently an unrestricted free agent.-Playing career:...
, Gabrielle Roy
Gabrielle Roy
Gabrielle Roy, CC, FRSC was a French Canadian author.- Biography :Born in Saint Boniface , Manitoba, Roy was educated at Saint Joseph's Academy...
, France Théoret, Pierre-Elliott Trudeau and Marcel Trudel.