Translated Slovene Literature in Canada and Australia

Translation activity both from and into Slovene and translation studies work written by Slovene immigrants have been rather limited in Slovene émigré communities Canada and Australia, with a few notable exceptions, while financial support for publishing is practically non-existent in the Slovene diaspora in those two countries, with the exception of self-publishing and the support of a few cultural associations. As such, cross-cultural mediation in between English and Slovene has depended completely on the efforts of literary enthusiasts who tend to be, in addition to translators, also émigré authors writing in the Slovene language. It was these enthusiasts who have been the driving force of translation of Slovene literature into English, and vice versa, even though it should be noted that the number of translations is relatively low, with some genres, above all poetry and to some extent also novels, nonetheless fairly well-repre­sented. Literary translation has largely depended on enthusiastic and inventive indi­viduals, predominantly émigré authors, such as Ferdinand Kolednik, Ivan Dolenc, Irma Marinčič Ožbalt, Tom Priestly and Tom Ložar in Canada, and Bert Pribac and Katarina Mahnič in Australia. There have also been more original authors who have translated Slovene canonical literary texts into English in Canada, too. And finally, the year 1991, when the country gained its independence, also marked a turning point for publishing Slovene literature from the diaspora in Slovenia.