Table Of ContentThe Translation of Violence in
Children’s Literature
“This volume addresses a regional gap in the treatment of children’s literature
in translation, expands our understanding of the topic of violence in children’s
literature, and critically engages with the traditional othering of the Balkans in the
imagination (and politics) of the Global North. The inclusion of commentary by
authors, translators, and publishers sets this volume apart, as does its actor- network
focus, underscoring the various, often unpredictable, ways translations come into
being and how they are shaped by the multiple actors, including institutions, that
are involved.”
Professor Brian James Baer, Kent State University, Ohio, USA
Considering that children’s literature is a powerful repository for creating and
proliferating cultural and national identities, this monograph is the frst academic
study of children’s literature in translation from the Western Balkans.
Marija Todorova looks at a broad range of children’s literature, from fction
to creative non-f ction and picture books and across fve different countries in
the Western Balkans, with each chapter including detailed textual and visual
analyses through the predominant lens of violence. These chapters raise questions
around who initiates and effectuates the selection of children’s literature from
the Western Balkans for translation into English, and they interrogate the roles
of different stakeholders, such as translators, publishers and cultural institutions,
in the representation and construction of these countries in translated children’s
literature, both in text and visually.
Given the combination of this study’s interdisciplinary nature and Todorova’s
detailed analysis, this book will prove to be an essential resource for professional
translators, researchers and students in courses in translation studies, children’s
literature or area studies, especially those of countries in the Western Balkans.
Marija Todorova is Research Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong Baptist
University. She is also Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University American
College Skopje. She is a member of the executive council of the International
Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies.
Routledge Advances in Translation and
Interpreting Studies
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Ali Yunis Aldahesh
The Qur’an, Translation and the Media
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Ahmed S. Elimam and Alysia S. Fletcher
The Translation of Realia and Irrealia in Game Localization
Culture- Specificity between Realism and Fictionality
Silvia Pettini
Translation and the Global City
Bridges and Gateways
Edited by Judith Weisz Woodsworth
Gender and Translation: New Perspectives
New Voices for Transnational Dialogues
Edited by Eleonora Federici and José Santaemilia
Global Insights into Public Service Interpreting
Theory, Practice and Training
Edited by Riccardo Moratto and Defeng Li
Translation and Interpreting in Australia and New Zealand
Distance and Diversity
Edited by Judy Wakabayashi and Minako O’Hagan
The Translation of Violence in Children’s Literature
Images from the Western Balkans
Marija Todorova
For more information about this series, please visit www.routledge.com/Routledge-
Advances- in- Translation- and- Interpreting- Studies/book-s eries/RTS
The Translation of Violence
in Children’s Literature
Images from the Western Balkans
Marija Todorova
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
© 2022 Marija Todorova
The right of Marija Todorova to be identifed as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks and are used only for identifcation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-i n- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing-i n-P ublication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 24996- 0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 70930- 3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-28539-4 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429285394
Typeset in Galliard
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
In loving memory of Professor Martha Pui Yiu Cheung
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
List of Abbreviations x
Introduction 1
1 Violence, representation and the other 11
2 Children’s literature from the Western Balkans 29
3 Memories of a violent past: Bosnia in creative non- fction 51
4 The noble savage: Serbia in picture books 73
5 Barbarian neighbours: A Macedonian middle- grade novel 93
6 (Non)violent masculinities: Croatian fction for
young adults 111
7 Anthologies of exclusion: Montenegrin short stories
for children 127
Conclusion 145
Appendix 1: Books for children and young adults from the
Western Balkans in English translation 155
Appendix 2: Contacts with key participants 166
Bibliography 168
Index 180
Acknowledgements
The completion of this book was a journey both fguratively and literally. It would
not have been possible without the many people I met along the way: people who
have readily assisted with locating books, providing contacts, answering ques-
tions and giving advice, as well as people who were welcoming, open- minded
and open- hearted.
First of all, I am profoundly thankful to Professor Mona Baker, who has been
a continuous inspiration in pursuing academic excellence and rigour on the one
hand and translation activism on the other. I am indebted to Professor Martha
Cheung, who saw value in my ideas and provided mentoring and guidance in
shaping them into a feasible and meaningful project, and to Dr Robert Neather,
who guided this project through to its fulflment.
I am thankful to my colleagues from the Department of Translation, Inter-
preting and Intercultural Studies at the Hong Kong Baptist University and espe-
cially to Ms Esther Kwok for their friendship and support in the transition to a
new country and culture. But above all, I owe thanks to Dr Audrey Heijns and
Dr Sarah Anaïs Aubrey, who became my most valuable support group, enrich-
ing me both personally and professionally. There are several people I would like
to thank in particular for helping me obtain materials: my colleagues Dr Nataša
Pavlović from the Department of English at the University of Zagreb, Dr Trajce
Stameski from the Department of Macedonian Literature and South Slavic Lit-
eratures at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, and Ms Viktorija
Kostoska from the National and University Library in Skopje. The research would
also not have been possible without the authors, translators, illustrators and
publishers who were willing to share their thoughts and insights into the process
of translation. I would also like to thank the anonymous peer reviewer and the
delightful Ms Katie Peace for believing in this book.
I gratefully acknowledge the fnancial support offered by the Hong Kong
Research Grant Council, which provided the funding to undertake the research
presented in this book. Additionally, I want to acknowledge the support of Pro-
fessor Kathleen Ahrens and the Research Center for Professional Communication
in English at the English Department of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
for allowing me the time and space to work on this book.
Acknowledgements ix
Without the love and patience of my family, Dr Zoran Poposki and Ema
Poposka, I would not have been able to get where I am now. Zoran was the frst
reader of everything I wrote, proofreading and editing numerous drafts. He pro-
vided the most candid criticism and most empowering encouragement.
Portions of the research presented in Chapters 3 and 4 were previously pub-
lished in Bookbird (2017) 55.2 and (2018) 56.4, respectively. Portions of Chap-
ter 4 also appear in the collected volume Children’s Literature in Translation
(Van Coillie and McMartin, 2020). The conclusions of the research are partially
presented in an article published in Translation Spaces (2021) 10.1.
