A Tale of Two Translation Programs: Politics, the Market, and Rockefeller Funding for Latin American Literature in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s

• Published in: Latin American research review Vol. 41; no. 2; pp. 139 - 164
• Main Author: Cohn, Deborah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pittsburgh University of Texas Press 01.01.2006; Latin American Studies Association; Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Alliances; American literature; Archives; Association of American University Presses; Book publishing; Cold War; Cold wars; Commercial publishing; Cuban Americans; Cultural differences; Culture; Foreign policy; Funding; Government agencies; Humanities; Intellectuals; International relations; Latin America; Latin American culture; Latin American history; Latin American literature; Latin American studies; Literary criticism; Literary translation; Market penetration; Modernism; National security; Philanthropy; Poetry; Politics; Publishing industry; Research Reports and Notes; Revolutions; Rockefeller Foundation; Siblings; Subsidies; Translation; Translations; United States; University presses; United States > US; Latin America
• ISSN: 0023-8791; 1542-4278; 1542-4278
• DOI: 10.1353/lar.2006.0020

In the 1960s, the Cuban Revolution sparked great interest in Latin America throughout the United States. Not coincidentally, the promotion and translation of literature from Latin America increased dramatically during this period. This essay explores the interplay of market and political forces in the promotion of Latin American literature in the United States through an examination of two programs funded by Rockefeller family philanthropies during the 1960s and 1970s: a translation subsidy program supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and administered by the Association of American University Presses; and the Translation Program of the Center for inter-American Relations, which was funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. I trace both programs' efforts at working the U.S. market to promote works and authors. I also study the political motivations fostering these efforts, exploring the extent to which these programs both sought to promote cross-cultural understanding and tried to further U.S. foreign policy interests. /// La traducción y diseminación de la literatura latinoamericana en los Estados Unidos empezó a tener éxito durante los años sesenta, reflejo del gran interés que la revolución cubana estimuló en la región. Este ensayo examina el papel del mercado y de la política, así como la relación entre ambas fuerzas, en la promoción de la literatura latinoamericana en los Estados Unidos. Se estudian en particular dos programas de subvención de traducciones patrocinados por filantropías de la familia Rockefeller en los años 60 y 70. El primero de ellos fue organizado por la Association of American University Presses con fondos de la Fundación Rockefeller, y el segundo formó parte del Programa de Literatura del Center for Inter-American Relations, el cual recibió fondos del Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Tras identificar los esfuerzos de ambos programas por estimular el mercado literario estadounidense para promocionar obras y autores latinoamericanos, este ensayo investiga también sus metas políticas, y se pregunta hasta qué punto ambos programas buscaban fomentar las relaciones culturales entre los Estados Unidos y América Latina al mismo tiempo que intentaban avanzar los intereses políticos de los Estados Unidos en la región.