English version of the acclaimed piece previously titled Eternity in the Reed by Irene Vallejo, brought to English readers under the name Papyrus. This edition, aimed at an English speaking audience in North America, distinguished itself by earning the prize for best English translation of a Spanish work in 2023, an annual accolade presented by the Queen Sophia Institute.
Vallejo’s expansive work surpassed a milestone in editorial achievement, spanning more than 400 pages and selling over a million copies worldwide. The English rendering was skillfully undertaken by Charlotte Whittle, whose careful balancing of scholarly depth and approachable prose drew praise from the jury for preserving the book’s intellectual rigor while allowing its voice to breathe with warmth and accessibility, even as it embraced intentional shifts in tone when necessary to maintain narrative liveliness.
The translator received a prize of $10,000 and is recognized as an experienced editor and translator who has earned multiple PEN translation awards. In conversations with EFE, he described the translation process as taking roughly a year, with most of that time occurring during the pandemic. He recalled that during those long, quiet months the project provided meaningful companionship and a steady creative purpose.
He emphasized Vallejo’s generosity with linguistic freedom, noting that she encouraged him to experiment with the English version in ways that would honor the spirit of the original while avoiding rigid adherence to dated cadences. In particular, he described how Vallejo herself translated some quotes from classical Greco-Roman authors into Spanish, and how the traditional approach often leaned toward the most canonical English renderings. He chose to diverge from those nineteenth century templates when they felt constraining or weighed down by censorship, seeking to present a more immediate, resonant cadence.
The hardest aspect of translating Vallejo, he observed, was not merely conveying information but conveying strength as a writer. The challenge lay in maintaining a friendly, inviting tonal warmth while preserving the swift tempo of the language and the complexity of ideas. To meet this balance, he drew encouragement from Vallejo, who urged him to imagine the book as a living oral tradition, spoken aloud and passing from one listener to another with the ease of casual conversation. The result is a translation that preserves the work’s intimacy without sacrificing its intellectual heft, a testament to careful craft and collaborative spirit.
The prize ceremony occurred at New York University King Juan Carlos College and recognized other notable finalists: Katie Whittemore, the translator of Piel de Lobo; the translator of No fire ever, Damiela Eltit, Daniel Hahn; and the translators of Breezes are coming in December, Isabel Adey and Charlotte Coombe.