Adrian Nathan West
 | This biographical article is written like a résumé. (March 2025) |
Adrian Nathan West is an American writer, critic, and literary translator. He has published the novel-essay The Aesthetics of Degradation (2016), translated in German and Dutch, and the novel My Father’s Diet (2022).[1] Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Joshua Cohen has called West “one of our best novelists.”[2]
West is a literary translator from several languages, primarily Spanish, German, Catalan, and French. He is known for his translation of When We Cease to Understand the World, by Chilean author Benjamín Labatut,[3] which was supported by an award from English PEN, shortlisted for the International Booker Prize,[4][5] and the National Book Award for Translated Literature,[6][7] and also selected by Barack Obama for his annual Summer Reading List in 2021.[8] He has also received the Austrian Cultural Forum’s Translation Prize in 2017 for his translation of Josef Winkler’s The Abduction and the Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award in 2024 for his translation of Open Heart by Elvira Lindo.[9] He is the English-language translator of Swiss author Hermann Burger.[citation needed]
West is a wide-ranging literary critic and essayist, with writing on subjects such as philosophy, pornography, masculinity, drug use, American cultural phenomena, Spanish art and literature, and books in translation. His work has been published in The New York Times,[10] The New York Review of Books,[11] The Baffler,[12] The Washington Examiner,[13] The Times Literary Supplement,[14] and others.
In 2022, he was recognized for his exceptional contributions to literature with an Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.[15]
Personal life
[edit]West lives between Spain and the United States with the cinema critic Beatriz Leal Riesco. He is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.[citation needed]
Bibliography
[edit]As author
[edit]- The Aesthetics of Degradation. Repeater Books. 2016. ISBN 978-1-913505-22-6.
- My Father's Diet. And Other Stories. 2022. ISBN 978-1-913505-22-6.[1]
As translator
[edit]- Winkler, Josef (2013). When the Time Comes. Contra Mundum Press. ISBN 978-1-68137-566-3.[16]
- Fritz, Marianne (2015). The Weight of Things. Dorothy. ISBN 978-0-9897607-7-5.[17]
- Winkler, Josef (2015). Graveyard of Bitter Oranges. Contra Mundum Press.
- Gimferrer, Pere (2016). Fortuny. David R. Godine.
- Benet, Juan (2017). The Construction of the Tower of Babel. Wakefield Press.
- Goetz, Rainald (2017). Insane. Fitzcarraldo Editions. ISBN 978-1-913505-22-6.[18]
- Lange, Hartmut (2017). Positive Nihilism: My Confrontation with Heidegger. MIT Press.
- Zepeda Patterson, Jorge (2017). Milena, or the Most Beautiful Femur in the World. Restless Books. ISBN 978-1-63206-125-6.[19]
- Améry, Jean (2018). Charles Bovary, Country Doctor. New York Review Books. ISBN 978-1-68137-250-1.[20]
- Lacan, Sibylle (2019). A Father: Puzzle. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-03931-4.[21]
- Ferrari, K. (2020). Like Flies From Afar. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-23994-7.[22]
- Goetz, Rainald (2020). Rave. Fitzcarraldo.
- Labatut, Benjamín (2020). When We Cease to Understand the World. Pushkin.
- Llosa, Mario Vargas (2021). Harsh Times. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-60123-2.[23]
- Neruda, Pablo (2021). The Complete Memoirs: Expanded Edition. Translated with Hardie St. Martin. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-53812-5.[24]
- Pàmies, Sergi (2021). The Art of Wearing a Trench Coat. Other Press.
- Burger, Hermann (2022). Brenner. Archipelago Books. ISBN 978-1-953861-30-6.[25]
- Burger, Hermann (2022). Tractatus Logico-Suicidalis. Wakefield Press.
- Llosa, Mario Vargas (2022). Fonchito and the Moon. Illustrated by Marta Chicote Juiz. Kales Press. ISBN 979-8-9859558-0-4.[26]
- Carpentier, Alejo (2023). Explosion in the Cathedral. Penguin Classics.
- Carpentier, Alejo (2023). The Lost Steps. Penguin Classics.
- Gurt, Carlota (2023). Alone. Europa Editions.
- Ron, Mercedes (2023). Your Fault. Bloom Books. ISBN 978-1-728-29076-8.[27]
- de Palol, Miquel (2023). The Garden of Seven Twilights. Dalkey Archive Press. ISBN 978-1-628974-51-5.[28]
- Burger, Hermann (2025). Diabelli. Wakefield Press.
- Hernández, Miguel Ángel (2025). Anoxia. Other Press. ISBN 978-1-63542-458-4.[29]
- Mattioli, Massimo (2025). Joe Galaxy. Translated with Jamie Richards. Fantagraphics.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "My Father's Diet by Adrian Nathan West". Publishers Weekly. November 16, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "My Father's Diet". And Other Stories. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ Kastner, Julia (September 28, 2021). "When We Cease to Understand the World". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "Awards: Stella Winner; International Booker Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. April 23, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ Nawotka, Ed (April 23, 2021). "International Booker Prize Shortlist Announced". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
- ^ "National Book Award Finalists Announced". Shelf Awareness. October 6, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ Stewart, Sophia (October 5, 2021). "2021 National Book Award Finalists Announced". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ Janfaza, Rachel (July 10, 2021). "Obama Summer Reading List 2021". CNN. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "National Translation Awards". American Literary Translators Association. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "Adrian Nathan West - the New York Times". The New York Times. March 23, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "Adrian Nathan West". The New York Review of Books. March 23, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "Adrian Nathan West". The Baffler. March 23, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "Adrian-nathan-west - Washington Examiner". The Washington Examiner. March 23, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "Adrian Nathan West Archives". The Times Literary Supplement. March 23, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "My Father's Diet author Adrian Nathan West scoops an Arts and Letters Award in Literature". And Other Stories. March 23, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
- ^ "When We Cease to Understand The World by Benjamin Labatut". Publishers Weekly. June 22, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "The Weight of Things". Kirkus Reviews. July 14, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "Insane by Rainald Goetz". Publishers Weekly. June 11, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "Milena, or the Most Beautiful Femur in the World by Jorge Zepeda Patterson". Publishers Weekly. March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "Charles Bovary, Country Doctor by Jean Amaery". Publishers Weekly. July 23, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "A Father". Kirkus Reviews. March 9, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "Like Flies from Afar by K Ferrari". Publishers Weekly. January 6, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa". Publishers Weekly. August 18, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "The Complete Memoirs". Kirkus Reviews. April 7, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "Brenner by Hermann Burger". Publishers Weekly. May 9, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ "Fonchito and the Moon". Kirkus Reviews. September 7, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "Your Fault". Kirkus Reviews. November 17, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "The Garden of Seven Twilights". Kirkus Reviews. February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "Anoxia by Miguel Ángel Hernández". Publishers Weekly. November 11, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- "Advice to Writers"
- "Benjamín Labatut and Adrian Nathan West on When We Cease to Understand the World"
- "Revelation is Absurd: A Conversation with Adrian Nathan West"
- "Body and Soul: An Interview with Adrian Nathan West"
- "The Market for Abuse and Humiliation: A Conversation with Adrian Nathan West"
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