{"id":331,"date":"2024-02-01T18:43:45","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T18:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/history\/"},"modified":"2024-06-13T02:45:26","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T02:45:26","slug":"bio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/bio\/","title":{"rendered":"Bio"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"331\" class=\"elementor elementor-331\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-33ebaf5 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"33ebaf5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6790227 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"6790227\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-a527c52 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"a527c52\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7c00956 e-n-tabs-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-n-tabs\" data-id=\"7c00956\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;tabs_justify_horizontal&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;horizontal_scroll&quot;:&quot;disable&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"nested-tabs.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-n-tabs\" data-widget-number=\"130025814\" aria-label=\"Tabs. Open items with Enter or Space, close with Escape and navigate using the Arrow keys.\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"e-n-tabs-heading\" role=\"tablist\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"e-n-tab-title-1300258141\" data-tab-title-id=\"e-n-tab-title-1300258141\" class=\"e-n-tab-title\" aria-selected=\"true\" data-tab-index=\"1\" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"e-n-tab-content-1300258141\" style=\"--n-tabs-title-order: 1;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"e-n-tab-title-text\">\n\t\t\t\tLiterary Biography\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<button id=\"e-n-tab-title-1300258142\" data-tab-title-id=\"e-n-tab-title-1300258142\" class=\"e-n-tab-title\" aria-selected=\"false\" data-tab-index=\"2\" role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-controls=\"e-n-tab-content-1300258142\" style=\"--n-tabs-title-order: 2;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"e-n-tab-title-text\">\n\t\t\t\tArtist's Biography\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"e-n-tabs-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"e-n-tab-content-1300258141\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-tab-title-1300258141\" data-tab-index=\"1\" style=\"--n-tabs-title-order: 1;\" class=\"e-active elementor-element elementor-element-028853b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"028853b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e290a93 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e290a93\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b226cea e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b226cea\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f2c787 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6f2c787\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0067f5b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0067f5b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-345d86b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"345d86b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b01e803 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b01e803\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/LiteraryBio.png\" title=\"LiteraryBio\" alt=\"LiteraryBio\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b4f7879 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b4f7879\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5e99b8a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5e99b8a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40cf417 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"40cf417\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1db9460 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1db9460\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"889\" height=\"924\" src=\"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Mark-Schafer-with-books-laughing_8-4-23_headshot.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-2368\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\"><\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1eb8771 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1eb8771\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3fa8f12 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3fa8f12\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-34b40e8 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"34b40e8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I\u2019m a translator, a visual artist, and a Senior Lecturer in Spanish at the University of Massachusetts Boston. My two most recent translations are <em><a href=\"https:\/\/citylights.com\/city-lights-published\/stay-this-day-night-with-me\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Stay This Day and Night with Me<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, <\/em>my translation of the novel by Spanish author Bel\u00e9n Gopegui, and <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nyrb.com\/products\/migrations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Migrations: Poem, 1976\u20132020<\/em><\/a>,<\/span><\/strong> my translation of the Mexican poet Gloria Gervitz\u2019s magnum opus. I\u2019ve translated poetry, fiction, and essays by authors around the Spanish-speaking world, though mostly from Latin America and, particularly, Mexico.\u00a0<\/p><p>These authors include David Huerta, Virgilio Pi\u00f1era, Alberto Ruy S\u00e1nchez, Jes\u00fas Gardea, Eduardo Galeano, and Antonio Jos\u00e9 Ponte. I\u2019m a founding member of the Boston Area Literary Translators Group and (with Yvon Augustin) the <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baystatebanner.com\/2022\/12\/07\/roxburys-highland-park-trees-breathe-in-winterlights-installation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roxbury Electric Illumination Collaborative<\/a><\/span><\/strong> art group.\u00a0<\/p><p>Thanks to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arts.gov\/impact\/literary-arts\/translation-fellows\/mark-schafer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">2024 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Translation Fellowship<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, I am working this year on translating 24 previously untranslated stories by Virgilio Pi\u00f1era, published after his death in 1979, which together with my revised translations from <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/books\/coldtales_book\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Cold Tales<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/strong> (1988), will be published in the next few years by New York Review Books in an expanded, 66-story collection. New York Review Books will also publish my revised translation of Pi\u00f1era&#8217;s novel, <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/books\/renesflesh_book\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Ren\u00e9&#8217;s Flesh<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p><p>I live with my wife and teenage daughter in Roxbury, MA, the traditional and unceded territory of the Massachusett and Wampanoag Peoples.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-938e669 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"938e669\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc18b2c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cc18b2c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cfe3e3b elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"cfe3e3b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8997dba elementor-widget elementor-widget-n-accordion\" data-id=\"8997dba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;default_state&quot;:&quot;expanded&quot;,&quot;max_items_expended&quot;:&quot;one&quot;,&quot;n_accordion_animation_duration&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;ms&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:400,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"nested-accordion.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-n-accordion\" aria-label=\"Accordion. Open links with Enter or Space, close with Escape, and navigate with Arrow Keys\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<details id=\"e-n-accordion-item-1440\" class=\"e-n-accordion-item\" open>\n\t\t\t\t<summary class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title\" data-accordion-index=\"1\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-controls=\"e-n-accordion-item-1440\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-header'><div class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title-text\"> My journey into the Spanish-speaking world <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-icon'>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-opened' ><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-minus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h384c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-closed'><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-plus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H272V64c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32h-32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v144H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h144v144c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h32c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32V304h144c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1440\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e1b02d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2e1b02d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1440\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc333ef e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"dc333ef\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-739837a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"739837a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>My journey into the Spanish-speaking world began when I was four years old. Vaguely aware that my family\u2019s ancestral language, Yiddish, had been all but lost between the arrival of my grandparents to New York from Russia and Poland at the turn of the last century and my growing up in \u2018exile\u2019 in Acton, a white suburb of Boston, Spanish caught my attention. First contact was a combination of the Puerto Rican families my father worked with in nearby Maynard and the Spanish of early <em>Sesame Street<\/em>.<\/p><p>In college, I set foot on the path to literary translation when I read the spectacular and deeply disturbing short stories of the Cuban author Virgilio Pi\u00f1era in the mid-1980s. Upon learning that almost none of his fiction had been translated into English, I dedicated myself to remedying this situation. In 1985, I moved to New York City, where I worked as a bilingual textbook writer and studied literary translation with Magda Bogin and Gregory Rabassa. Two years later, I moved to Mexico to fully live in Spanish and to become fluent. While there, my translated collection of forty-three of Pi\u00f1era\u2019s short stories, <em>Cold Tales,<\/em> was published. That volume was quickly followed by my translation of Pi\u00f1era\u2019s novel, <em>Ren\u00e9\u2019s Flesh<\/em>. I was hooked!<\/p><p>I lived in the town of Tepoztl\u00e1n for three years, translating fiction and learning Spanish\u2014that is, attending birthdays, weddings, and funerals, planting and harvesting corn, opening and closing the neighborhood church (me, a Jew!), and learning the fine Mexican craft of the <em>albur<\/em>, the double and triple entendre that is the staple of any street corner hangout in a provincial Mexican town. There I also started to read Mexican literature, the classic authors as well as the youngsters, including the novelist Alberto Ruy S\u00e1nchez, the short story writer Jes\u00fas Gardea, and the poet Gloria Gervitz, all whom I would eventually translate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<details id=\"e-n-accordion-item-1441\" class=\"e-n-accordion-item\" >\n\t\t\t\t<summary class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title\" data-accordion-index=\"2\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"e-n-accordion-item-1441\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-header'><div class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title-text\"> Living  in the town of Tepoztl\u00e1n  <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-icon'>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-opened' ><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-minus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h384c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-closed'><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-plus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H272V64c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32h-32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v144H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h144v144c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h32c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32V304h144c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1441\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d810e7a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d810e7a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1441\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b15690 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2b15690\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d6237b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2d6237b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); font-style: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-style ); font-weight: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-weight ); letter-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-letter-spacing ); text-transform: var( --e-global-typography-text-text-transform ); word-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-word-spacing );\">I lived in the town of Tepoztl\u00e1n for three years, translating fiction and learning Spanish\u2014that is, attending birthdays, weddings, and funerals, planting and harvesting corn, opening and closing the neighborhood church (me, a Jew!), and learning the fine Mexican craft of the <\/span><em style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); font-weight: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-weight ); letter-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-letter-spacing ); text-transform: var( --e-global-typography-text-text-transform ); word-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-word-spacing );\">albur<\/em><span style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); font-style: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-style ); font-weight: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-weight ); letter-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-letter-spacing ); text-transform: var( --e-global-typography-text-text-transform ); word-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-word-spacing );\">, the double and triple entendre that is the staple of any street corner hangout in a provincial Mexican town.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; font-size: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-size ); font-style: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-style ); font-weight: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-weight ); letter-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-letter-spacing ); text-transform: var( --e-global-typography-text-text-transform ); word-spacing: var( --e-global-typography-text-word-spacing );\">In Tepoztl\u00e1n, I also started to read Mexican literature, the classic authors as well as the youngsters, including the novelist Alberto Ruy S\u00e1nchez, the short story writer Jes\u00fas Gardea, and the poet Gloria Gervitz, all whom I would eventually translate. Upon my return to the States in 1991, I co-founded the Boston-Area Literary Translators Group, which has met semi-monthly for over 30 years.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<details id=\"e-n-accordion-item-1442\" class=\"e-n-accordion-item\" >\n\t\t\t\t<summary class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title\" data-accordion-index=\"3\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"e-n-accordion-item-1442\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-header'><div class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title-text\"> Becoming a literary translator <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-icon'>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-opened' ><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-minus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h384c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-closed'><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-plus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H272V64c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32h-32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v144H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h144v144c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h32c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32V304h144c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1442\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-304ef97 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"304ef97\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-57db4f2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"57db4f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>My translation of Pi\u00f1era\u2019s fiction was the start of my life as a translator into English of literature from the Spanish-speaking world. Since then, I\u2019ve translated the works of dozens of other writers, including short stories by Roberto Bola\u00f1o (Chile), Jes\u00fas Gardea (M\u00e9xico), and Sonia Rivera-Vald\u00e9s (Cuba); novels by Alberto Ruy S\u00e1nchez (Mexico) and Bel\u00e9n Gopegui (Spain); essays by Nicol\u00e1s Guill\u00e9n (Cuba), Jos\u00e9 Lezama Lima (Cuba), Antonio Jos\u00e9 Ponte (Cuba); and poetry by David Huerta, Gloria Gervitz, and Jaime Sabines (all from Mexico) as well as Ponte.<\/p><p>Upon my return to the States from Mexico in 1991, I co-founded the Boston-Area Literary Translators Group, which has met semi-monthly for over 30 years. <\/p><p style=\"text-align: left;\">In my spare (but income-producing) time, I\u2019ve taught Spanish at the University of Massachusetts Boston since 2007. I\u2019ve lived in Sweden, Colombia, and Mexico, as well as the United States, and I speak Spanish fluently, Haitian at a semi-fluent intermediate level, and Swedish at an almost fully rusted-out level. I\u2019m also an award-winning visual artist (primarily collage and art installations) and a community art organizer and activist.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: left;\">I live with my wife, teenage daughter, and future dog in Roxbury, MA, the traditional and unceded territory of the Massachusett and Wampanoag Peoples.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<details id=\"e-n-accordion-item-1443\" class=\"e-n-accordion-item\" >\n\t\t\t\t<summary class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title\" data-accordion-index=\"4\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"e-n-accordion-item-1443\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-header'><div class=\"e-n-accordion-item-title-text\"> Literary honors <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class='e-n-accordion-item-title-icon'>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-opened' ><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-minus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h384c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class='e-closed'><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-plus\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M416 208H272V64c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32h-32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v144H32c-17.67 0-32 14.33-32 32v32c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h144v144c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h32c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32V304h144c17.67 0 32-14.33 32-32v-32c0-17.67-14.33-32-32-32z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1443\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bcc945 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2bcc945\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-accordion-item-1443\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fb6a95f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"fb6a95f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-93cbcbd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"93cbcbd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Thanks to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arts.gov\/impact\/literary-arts\/translation-fellows\/mark-schafer\">2024 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Translation Fellowship<\/a>, I am working this year on translating 23 previously untranslated stories by Virgilio Pi\u00f1era, published after his death in 1979, which together with my revised translations from <a href=\"https:\/\/neglectedbooks.com\/?p=4727\"><em>Cold Tales<\/em><\/a> (1988), will be published some time in the next few years by New York Review Books in an expanded, 66-story collection. New York Review Books will also publish my revised translation of Pi\u00f1era&#8217;s novel, <a href=\"https:\/\/neglectedbooks.com\/?p=7625\"><em>Ren\u00e9&#8217;s Flesh<\/em><\/a>, which will reflect the author&#8217;s corrected text of the novel, published in 1995.<\/p><p>Among other literary honors I\u2019ve received are the Robert Fitzgerald Translation Prize for my translation of poetry by \u00c1lvaro Mutis, PEN Oakland\u2019s Josephine A. Miles Prize for my translation of Gloria Gervitz\u2019s <em>Migrations: Poem, 1976\u20132020<\/em>, which was also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m8BSrZJHRPA\">shortlisted for the Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation<\/a>, and a variety of local, state, national, and international grants and fellowships, including a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a residency in the inaugural year of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre, two grants from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports, grants from the Fund for Culture Mexico-USA and the Mexican Program of Support from the Translation of Mexican Works into Foreign Language, and two Translation Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts: to translate <i>Stripping Away the Sorrows from This World, <\/i>a collection of stories by Jes\u00fas Gardea (1993) and <i>Before Saying Any of the Great Words: Selected Poems, <\/i>an anthology of poetry by David Huerta (2005).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"e-n-tab-content-1300258142\" role=\"tabpanel\" aria-labelledby=\"e-n-tab-title-1300258142\" data-tab-index=\"2\" style=\"--n-tabs-title-order: 2;\" class=\" elementor-element elementor-element-64e13e4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"64e13e4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a315df e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"4a315df\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0f27bc0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0f27bc0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3a30774 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3a30774\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a8de44 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5a8de44\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-83200b3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"83200b3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3e092fc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3e092fc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9253d65 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"9253d65\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d66b92d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d66b92d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Artists-Biography-1.jpg\" title=\"Screenshot\" alt=\"Screenshot\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-619b62a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"619b62a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Mark Schafer is an award-winning visual artist and a community art activist and organizer, as well as a literary translator and Senior Lecturer in Spanish at the University of Massachusetts Boston. His artwork has included his many imaginative \u201cshort cut\u201d maps, a variety of tree-based art installations, and his illustrations for <strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/born-to-be-happy-mark-schafer\/1141041637\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Born To Be Happy<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/strong>, a children\u2019s book he wrote and illustrated for his daughter. He has created installations for The Banff Centre for the Arts (Alberta, Canada), Fruitlands Museum (Harvard, MA) and the Hawthorne Youth and Community Center (HYCC) (Roxbury, MA).<\/p><p>As a community art activist, Schafer<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u2022 Successfully organized a community effort to get Roxbury Community College (RCC) to install an informational plaque identifying John Wilson\u2019s sculpture \u201cFather and Child Reading\u201d<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u2022 Conceived of and co-organized the \u201c<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QD8rDkTZQK0\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">A Great <\/span><\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QD8rDkTZQK0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Day in Roxbury\u2019s Highland Park<\/strong><\/span><\/a><strong>\u201d<\/strong> photo (taken by Roxbury photographer Hakim Raquib) of seventy-eight neighborhood Elders<\/p><p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u2022 Organized and coordinated the two mural workshops at RCC, in 2021 and 2024,that eventually produced, under the direction of master muralist Roberto Chao, the 85\u2019-long community-created mural \u201c<strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><b><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rcc.mass.edu\/experience\/arts-culture\/ode-to-africa-in-the-americas-mural.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">An Ode to Africa in the Americas<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/strong>\u201d now located on the RCC campus.<\/p><p>In 2021, Schafer formed The Roxbury Electric Illuminating Company artist collective with Yvon Augustin. In collaboration with several technical experts, a group of local teenagers, HYCC and the City of Boston, they created \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/circleofpeace.art\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Winterlights: A Circle of Peace<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a>,\u201d a community light installation in Highland Park, Roxbury. Due to popular demand, \u201cWinterlights\u201d has become an annual event, from December through February. They are currently working on a new art installation for the same site.<\/p><p>He has been a member of the Advisory Committee for Dayenne C. Walter\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/p\/Billboard-Hope-Hope-Inspiration-For-the-Future-100067216193136\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Billboard <\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/p\/Billboard-Hope-Hope-Inspiration-For-the-Future-100067216193136\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Hope<\/span><\/a><\/strong> public art project since 2021.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e38fc18 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e38fc18\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1bf4094 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1bf4094\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Literary Biography Artist&#8217;s Biography I\u2019m a translator, a visual artist, and a Senior Lecturer in Spanish at the University of Massachusetts Boston. My two most recent translations are Stay This Day and Night with Me, my translation of the novel by Spanish author Bel\u00e9n Gopegui, and Migrations: Poem, 1976\u20132020, my translation of the Mexican poet [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-331","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331"}],"version-history":[{"count":239,"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2637,"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/331\/revisions\/2637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beforesaying.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}