Janice Galloway

Janice Galloway (1955) is a writer already rightfully regarded as one of the classic Scottish authors and also considered as one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary Scottish literature. She published several novels and books of short stories and two autobiographies. Her stories are regularly featured in various anthologies.  In addition, she also writes for shows broadcast by BBC Scotland and frequently collaborates with musicians, as she is a musician herself. This is evident from her works, which are characterised by a rhythmic language, dark humour, and astringency, all of which she applies to her urban stories in order to tackle the daily trials and tribulations of the modern individual. Her writing is not focused on Scotland alone, which is why she is able to reach different kinds of readers throughout the world.

 

Clara

Janice Galloway has received many accolades for her work. Her book The Trick Is to Keep Breathing (1989) has been listed among the 10 best Scottish books of the past 50 years.  The mentioned novel was also translated to Slovene by Tina Mahkota and published under the title Dihati moraš, to je vsa skrivnost by the Študenska založba Publishing House in 2000. It will also be available in e-book form during this year's Fabula festival. The Slovene translation of her novel Clara; translated by Jure Potokar; will be published in the scope of this year's Fabula festival as well.

The novel Clara lends a voice to the wife of the famous German composer Robert Schumann, a figure with a scheming personality that became lost in the shuffle of history. Clara Schumann was considered as one of the most acclaimed pianists of the 19th century, although today she is noted mainly for her marriage to the composer rather than her music. The novel Clara depicts the life of the Schumann couple; a life marked by chequered periods of silence and music; Clara's personal path towards finding her own individual expression, and, finally, Robert's descent into the abyss of madness.

Translated from English to Slovene by Jure Potokar. Abstract translated from the Slovene to English by Janko Jemec.

Jure Potokar first began to dabble in translation during his time at university and later embarked on a career as a professional translator of literature. He has translated approximately eighty works of fiction and also participated as a translator of works featured in the respective volumes Antologija ameriške poezije XX. stoletja (An Anthology of American Poetry of the 20th Century, CZ 1986) and Antologija angleške poezije (An Anthology of English Poetry, CZ 1996).