<p><span class="p-body">Elizabeth Lowe is an adjunct professor in the <a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-translation.html" title="MS in Translation and Interpreting (MSTI)">MS in Translation and Interpreting (MSTI)</a> program at NYU SPS. She is a specialist in translation pedagogy and theory. A <a href="https://www.arts.gov/impact/literary-arts/translation-fellows/elizabeth-lowe" title="literary translator" target="_blank">literary translator</a>, Lowe&nbsp;translates Luso-Afro-Brazilian fiction, as well as works from Latin American and peninsular Spanish.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span class="p-body">The Brazilian Academy of Letters recognized her translation of the canonical work <i>Os Sertões</i> by Euclides da Cunha (Backlands: The Canudos Campaign, 2010). She is the author of <i>The City in Brazilian Literature</i> (1982) and <i>Translation and the Rise of Inter-American Literature</i> (with Earl E. Fitz, 2007), along with <a href="https://www.elizabethlowe.net/" target="_blank" title="many articles in journals and book chapters on translation criticism and theory">many articles in journals and book chapters on translation criticism and theory</a>.</span></p>

<p>Lowe's translation of Rómulo Betancourt: His Historical Personality and the Genesis of Modern Democracy in Venezuela by Germán Carrera Damas was recently published by the University Press of Florida, a watershed moment in her career.&nbsp;</p> <p>&quot;I was approached by the University Press of Florida asking if I would be interested in translating the book,&quot; she recalled. &quot;They had received a grant for the translation and were seeking someone with an academic background in Latin American Studies and literature to do the work.&quot;&nbsp;</p> <p>Lowe usually translates fiction. In this case, she felt it was a good challenge to work on a scholarly text by an eminent Venezuelan historian on a topic of importance for world politics today. &quot;It was also, I felt, a public service, to bring attention to Venezuela and its complex history to the English-speaking world, particularly since democracy is in peril in that country,&quot; she continued.</p>

<p>The length of time Lowe spends on a translation depends on the length and complexity of the book, and this one, which runs almost 500 pages, took her three years to complete. &quot;It is a very difficult book, which required research and consultation with subject matter experts,&quot; she mused.</p> <p>What Lowe most appreciated about this project was the challenge of working with a difficult text and creating an English version of it that would not only make sense to English language readers and bring a large new audience to the book.</p>

<p>Lowe describes this book as an extended essay rather than a biography. &quot;The author's purpose was to shed light on the figure of Rómulo Betancourt, his personal trajectory as a man and a politician, and the evolution of his political thought,&quot; she explained. &quot;It is a non-fiction work that draws on the author's academic expertise and knowledge of his subject.&quot;</p> <p>Since the essay and the novel are two different genres, translating each genre requires some knowledge of the genre itself and its stylistic conventions and techniques, according to Lowe.&nbsp;</p> <p>&quot;An essay demands close attention to the subject matter and the academic register of the text; a novel invites the translator to recreate the fictional world of the book in all its dimensions within the conventions of novelistic style, including development of character, dialogue, plot, and use of metaphorical language,&quot; she asserted. &quot;Any genre requires attention to detail and the need to be consistent.&quot;</p>

<p>The author, Germán Carrera Damas, is an erudite scholar who writes in the tradition of Latin American scholarship, which values a high register of language, complex syntax, Latinate vocabulary, and numerous literary and historical allusions. Not surprisingly, the text requires close reading. &quot;The biggest challenge was to make the text readable in English without smoothing it over, or diminishing its unique characteristics,&quot; Lowe intimated.</p> <p>Lowe believes that it's important for English-speaking audiences to encounter this book's subject matter. This is because the history of democracy in Venezuela and the threat to the country's democratic institutions under the current government of Nicolás Maduro is an important case study in the fragility of democracy and the importance of protecting it.</p>

<p>Earning an <a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-translation.html" title="MS in Translation &amp; Interpreting">MS in Translation &amp; Interpreting</a> at NYU SPS can open doors that you may have never imagined were possible. See where you can start the next chapter of your career with a degree from the Center for Publishing, Writing, and Media.</p>