Still being translated into Chinese

So, back in April 2020, right as the quarantine was launching into full swing, I got randomly contacted by a Tolkien fan society in China, the ArdaNEWS Studio, asking if they could translate my (then) recently published Journal of Tolkien Research article, "On Ways of Studying Tolkien: Notes Toward an Epic Fantasy Criticism," into Chinese. For people with a good memory, I blogged about it here.

Despite the best of intentions, as you might expect, the project was delayed because of COVID. Since I know the translators are all volunteers and Chinese grad students in English, and that translation is a major effort in the most optimal of conditions, at one point I even offered to make them a donation. The group declined, gracefully, because they wanted to maintain their non-profit status. Anyway! I just got a long, super apologetic email from their main translator saying that, yes, the article is now fully translated and proofread, but .... they weren't really happy with how it turned out. The issue is what you might expect: in a theory-heavy academic article, they were having a real tough time with some of the terminology and concepts and so forth.

Now they're hoping the new translation will be done by December, and I must say, I can't but help be impressed with their diligence and professionalism. Beyond the pure warm fuzzies of having my own work translated into a different language, they're evidently taking their fandom and responsibilities quite seriously. I wish them the best of luck. 

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