Sunday, March 10, 2013
Welcome
Welcome-mabuhay-to 'An American in Manila'. This site is new and will be growing, but please browse around. Leave a message, just to say hello or with a question or comment. I will check my posts twice daily and get back to you, normally in the same day. Here's hoping that you adjust quickly to daylight saving time in most of the U.S. It takes me a while to adjust.
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Dear Dr. Boyer
ReplyDeleteI would like to introduce myself, my name is Jan Koumar and I live in the Czech Republic (Europe). Two years ago I received the book “Sundays in Manila” as a Christmas gift from my friend living in the Philippines, he sent it with a dedication, which itself is a good reason for appreciating, but on top of that I have fallen in love with all the chapters of your book.
Because I found it very charming and because I wanted my family to read it too (they do not speak English), I translated it for my own use into my mother tongue – Czech. But now, after a year of working on that translation and constant improving its quality (thanks to priceless remarks of my colleagues, translators), I have got an idea of offering that finished translation to the Czech publishers so that the book can be read by people here who want to visit the Philippines (I believe the amount of those is improving and there is not book in Czech similar to yours). So the reason for this post is to ask if you see potential publishing “Sundays in Manila” here in the Czech Republic viable. I am not sure at the moment whether I find a publisher for your book in my translation I just wanted to ask for the permission to start offering it.
At the end I think I should state some information about my experience with English and translating. I have been working as a lecturer of English, French and Czech for foreigners at the local language school for four years, I have a degree (BA) in Humanities from Charles University in Prague and Cambridge ESOL exam in English – CAE. So far I have been translating only some contracts and the magazine articles. But I dare promise that my translation is good enough and that – as far as I can say – I will not bring any shame on your charming book, my goal is to do just the opposite.
If you are interested and if you think you could agree with offering the translation of your book to some local publishers here in the Czech Republic, please do not hesitate to contact me: jan.koumar@gmail.com
Dear Jan Koumar,
ReplyDeleteI just read your comment of Oct. 13. My wife and I have been traveling since early October. I am very flattered that you find "Sundays in Manila" charming. It is not surprising that there is not a similar book in Czech. A Canadian reader asked me some months ago to recommend a book similar to mine, after he had read it. I promised to look for one, but so far I have not found any in English or in any other language. There has not been much interest in books about the Philippines, but I thank that that is starting to change. I would be very happy if you could find a publisher to do it in Czech, but before that could happen, I would have to consult with my publisher, The U. of the Philippines Press (UPPress). I will forward your inquirey to them.
Again, thank you very much for your kind remarks about the book. I will get back to you when I have a reply from the UPPress.