Sheila Fischman
Encyclopedia
Sheila Leah Fischman, CM
(born 1 December 1937) is a Canadian
translator
who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature.
Born in Moose Jaw
, Saskatchewan
,, she was brought up in Ontario. She holds an M.A. from the University of Toronto
. Fischman is a former editor of the Montreal Star
's book section, as well as a columnist for the Globe & Mail and the Montreal Gazette and a broadcaster for CBC Radio
. She is a founding member of the Literary Translators' Association of Canada
and founding co-editor of Ellipse: Œuvres en traduction/Writers in Translation. She currently lives in Montreal.
novel
s into English, including works by such noted Quebec authors as Michel Tremblay
, Jacques Poulin
, Anne Hébert
, Marie-Claire Blais
, Roch Carrier
, Yves Beauchemin
and François Gravel.
for Translation, receiving the prize in 1988 for Bambi and Me, her translation of Michel Tremblay
's Les vues animés. She has twice won the Canada Council
Prize for Translation (in 1974 and 1984) and the Félix-Antoine Savard Award offered by the Translation Center, Columbia University
(in 1989 and 1990). Her translation of Pascale Quiviger
's The Perfect Circle was a finalist for the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize
and her translation of Am I Disturbing You by Anne Hébert
was a finalist for the same prize in 2000. Three of Fischman's translations have been selected for Canada Reads
: Next Episode
by Hubert Aquin
in 2003; Volkswagen Blues
by Jacques Poulin
in 2005; and The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay
in 2008.
In recognition of her work, Fischman has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa
and the University of Waterloo
. In 2000, she was invested into the Order of Canada
and, in 2008, into the Ordre national du Québec. She won the 2008 Molson Prize
for the Arts.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born 1 December 1937) is a 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...
who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature.
Born in Moose Jaw
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River. It is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians. It is best known as a retirement and tourist city that serves as a hub to the hundreds of small towns...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
,, she was brought up in Ontario. She holds an M.A. from the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Fischman is a former editor of the Montreal Star
Montreal Star
The Montreal Star was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It folded in 1979 following an eight-month pressmen's strike....
's book section, as well as a columnist for the Globe & Mail and the Montreal Gazette and a broadcaster for CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
. She is a founding member 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 founding co-editor of Ellipse: Œuvres en traduction/Writers in Translation. She currently lives in Montreal.
Works
Fischman has translated nearly 150 QuebecQuebec
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....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s into English, including works by such noted Quebec authors as Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay, CQ is a Canadian novelist and playwright.Tremblay grew up in the Plateau Mont-Royal, a French-speaking neighbourhood of Montreal, at the time of his birth a neighbourhood with a working-class character and joual dialect, something that would heavily influence his work...
, Jacques Poulin
Jacques Poulin
Jacques Poulin is a Canadian novelist with a quiet and intimate style of writing.Poulin studied psychology and arts at the Université Laval in Quebec City; he started his career as commercial translator and later became a college guidance counselor...
, Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert, CC, OQ , was a Canadian author and poet. She is a descendant of famed French-Canadian historian Francois-Xavier Garneau, "and has carried on the family literary tradition spectacularly."...
, Marie-Claire Blais
Marie-Claire Blais
Marie-Claire Blais, is a Canadian author and playwright.- Life :Born in Quebec City, Quebec, she was educated at a convent school and at Université Laval. It was at Laval that she met Jeanne Lapointe and Father Georges Lévesque, who encouraged her to write and, in 1959, to publish her first...
, Roch Carrier
Roch Carrier
Roch Carrier, OC is a Canadian novelist and author of "contes" . He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada....
, Yves Beauchemin
Yves Beauchemin
Yves Beauchemin is a Quebec novelist.Born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Beauchemin received his degree in French literature and art history at the Université de Montréal in 1965. He taught literature at the Collège Garneau and Université Laval...
and François Gravel.
Honours and Citations
Since 1987, Fischman has received 14 nominations for the Governor General's AwardGovernor General's Award
The Governor General's Awards are a collection of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, marking distinction in a number of academic, artistic and social fields. The first was conceived in 1937 by Lord Tweedsmuir, a prolific author of fiction and non-fiction who created the Governor...
for Translation, receiving the prize in 1988 for Bambi and Me, her translation of Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay, CQ is a Canadian novelist and playwright.Tremblay grew up in the Plateau Mont-Royal, a French-speaking neighbourhood of Montreal, at the time of his birth a neighbourhood with a working-class character and joual dialect, something that would heavily influence his work...
's Les vues animés. She has twice won the Canada Council
Canada Council
The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown Corporation established in 1957 to act as an arts council of the government of Canada, created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It funds Canadian artists and...
Prize for Translation (in 1974 and 1984) and the Félix-Antoine Savard Award offered by the Translation Center, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
(in 1989 and 1990). Her translation of Pascale Quiviger
Pascale Quiviger
Pascale Quiviger is a Canadian writer and artist. Raised and educated in Quebec, she is currently based in the United Kingdom, where she writes, paints, teaches visual arts and practices hypnotherapy...
's The Perfect Circle was a finalist for the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize
Scotiabank Giller Prize
The Scotiabank Giller Prize, or Giller Prize, is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English the previous year, after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries...
and her translation of Am I Disturbing You by Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert
Anne Hébert, CC, OQ , was a Canadian author and poet. She is a descendant of famed French-Canadian historian Francois-Xavier Garneau, "and has carried on the family literary tradition spectacularly."...
was a finalist for the same prize in 2000. Three of Fischman's translations have been selected for Canada Reads
Canada Reads
Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...
: Next Episode
Prochain épisode
Prochain épisode is Hubert Aquin's first novel, published in French in 1965.-Plot summary:The narrator, like Aquin himself, turns his adventures into a spy thriller to while away the time he is forced to spend in the psychiatric ward of a Montreal prison, where he is awaiting a trial for an...
by Hubert Aquin
Hubert Aquin
Hubert Aquin was a novelist, political activist, essayist, filmmaker and editor....
in 2003; Volkswagen Blues
Volkswagen Blues
Volkswagen Blues is a novel by French-Canadian writer Jacques Poulin. Volkswagen Blues was published in French in 1984; it was translated into English by Sheila Fischman and published by McClelland & Stewart in 1988 and subsequently re-issued by Cormorant Books in 2002.Volkswagen Blues was...
by Jacques Poulin
Jacques Poulin
Jacques Poulin is a Canadian novelist with a quiet and intimate style of writing.Poulin studied psychology and arts at the Université Laval in Quebec City; he started his career as commercial translator and later became a college guidance counselor...
in 2005; and The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant by Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay, CQ is a Canadian novelist and playwright.Tremblay grew up in the Plateau Mont-Royal, a French-speaking neighbourhood of Montreal, at the time of his birth a neighbourhood with a working-class character and joual dialect, something that would heavily influence his work...
in 2008.
In recognition of her work, Fischman has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
and the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
. In 2000, she was invested into the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
and, in 2008, into the Ordre national du Québec. She won the 2008 Molson Prize
Molson Prize
The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by The Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and humanities...
for the Arts.