The second issue of Aldus, Brown's journal of translated works, is currently under production following a well-received first issue published last spring.
Possibly the only journal dedicated to the art of translation run by undergraduates, Aldus showcases works of translation produced by students, professors and eminent translators to illuminate an often underrepresented aspect of literature, said its founders, Timothy Nassau '12 and Matthew Weiss '12.
"To translate something well is as difficult as it is to write well," Nassau said.
With campus publications giving little attention to translation, Nassau and Weiss decided to work with other like-minded students to create a journal dedicated to the subject.
To get started, Nassau said he emailed student translators he met at a workshop.
The founders also reached out to Dore Levy, professor of comparative literature and a "source of indispensable advice and support from the beginning," who has since become the journal's faculty adviser, Weiss said.
Aldus' first issue was distributed to students and faculty on campus, mailed to recipients when requested and published online. Nassau said he estimates the readership is about 15,000 based on web views and distribution of physical copies.
The journal was generously received. Three Percent, which Weiss called an "authoritative" blog on translation maintained by the University of Rochester's Open Letters Press, wrote about Aldus' first steps in joining the translation community. In a post entitled "Interns — They Grow Up Too Fast," the blog mentions Nassau's internship at Open Letters in summer 2009 and how he returned to Brown "a bit wiser and with ambition in his heart."
"Fast-forward two years, and young little Tim has helped launch Aldus," the post reads.
Aldus was also cited on the copyright page of the bilingual edition of "Tres," a collection of poems by Roberto Bolano, because portions of the book had previously been printed in the journal. "That was the moment when I thought, ‘We've won,'" Weiss said.
Nassau and Weiss are already considering expanding the journal. They recently created a blog to report on literature that remains untranslated or could use more robust translation.
"We're trying to do something different with the Aldus blog," Weiss said, "Sometimes the hardest part is even knowing a lot of this stuff exists, dormant, waiting to be given life in the English language."
With more funding, Nassau believes the journal can reach a wider audience.
"Imagine seeing Aldus in a Barnes and Noble and knowing it was made by Brown undergrads," he said. "It would be tough to do, but it wouldn't be impossible."
