Lit_cast Slovakia #28: Tomáš Hučko

In LIT_cast 28 translator and journalist Tomáš Hučko talks to Julia Sherwood about what made him co-found the monthly Kapitál, about championing socially engaged writing and political comic books, about the most popular Slovak children’s books since 1989 as well as the joys and challenges of translating John Fante, Henry David Thoreau and John Steinbeck. He has plenty of suggestions of books by Slovak authors that might be worth translating into English, and recommends taking a fresh look at some interwar communist writers.  

Photo © Ondřej Herskovič

Links

Tomáš Hučko

Chaconna (novella)

Kapitál (Slovak cultural and political monthly)

podcast: Kapitalks

publishing house: KPTL

Selected books published by Kapitál in Slovak translation:

Alfie Bown:  The PlayStation Dreamworld / Playstation - Svet snov

trans. Lukáš Likavčan)

Aimé Césaire:  Discourse on Colonialism / Rozprava o kapitalizme

                                    trans. Lucia Duero and Silvia Ruppeldtová

Recommended books by Slovak writers

Ladislav Ballek:  Pomocník (Helper)

Alfonz Bednár:  Sklený vrch  (The Glass Hill)

Ladislav Mňačko: Oneskorené reportáže  (Overdue Reportages)

                        Smrť sa volá Engelchen / Death is Called Engelchen trans. George Theier

                        Ako chutí moc / The Taste of Power,  trans. Paul Stevenson

Peter Jilemnický:  Kus cukru (A Lump of Sugar)

Dominik Tatarka:  Démon súhlasu (The Demon of Consent) trans. Peter Petro

Peter Karvaš:  Absolútny zákaz  (Total Ban, a play)                       

Hana Ponická: Lukavické zápisky / Notes from Lukavica

Dušan Taragel:  Rozprávky pre neposlušné deti a ich starostlivých rodičov  (Fairytales for Naughty Children And Their Caring Parents)

Jakub Erik Groch: Tuláčik a Klára  (Klára And the Little Stray)

Monika Kompaníková: Hlbokomorské rozprávky (Deep Sea Fairytales)

Marek Vadas: Útek / The Escape

Mirka Ábelová: Pes Moko a jeho oko  (The Dog Moko and His Eye)

Daniel Majling: Rudo

Interviews with Slovak writers in: Antonín J. Liehm: Generace / A Generation

selected translations by Tomáš Hučko:

John Fante:  Ask the Dust / Opýtaj sa prachu

Christopher Hitchens: The Missionary Position / Misionárska poloha

H.D. Thoreau: Walden; or, Life in the Woods / Walden alebo Život v lese

John Steinbeck: In Dubious Battle

Art Spiegelman: Maus

Jill Twiss : A Day In the Life of Marlon Bundo / Jeden deň v živote Marlona Zajda