Rights and Authorship
Publishers and editors colluded in keeping translators’ salaries ludicrously low, sometimes playing on their ignorance and the fact that “no one ever thought of money in those days.” While the typical system of payment for translators – a negligible amount for every word translated – may seem reasonable in theory, the extensive outside research, cultural investigation, and complete tonal recreation illustrated in Wright’s translation process call the validity of this system into question.
Though Wright’s thorough collaboration with Queneau during the translation of Exercices de style clearly shows the influence of both on the finished work, the publisher and readers cannot be expected to gauge the share each of the writers had in it; perhaps the boundaries were not clear even to Wright and Queneau themselves. Some critics wish to strip the translator of all authorial credit, claiming that they did not write the original text and thus had no influence over the creation of the work; however, this argument assumes that written works are put to paper as they emerge from the mind of an author and immediately published. The question, then, is not whether the translator is an author, but the percentage of authorship that belongs to the translator.
Contract between publisher John Calder and Wright for the republication of Exercises in Style. According to the contract, the commissioned translation remains the property of the publishing house only in the British Commonwealth, allowing for the legal possibility of an American publication. Note that the document refers to the "Translator" exclusively through male pronouns, illustrating the prominence of male translators in Wright's time.
Letter from Wright's theatrical agent Margaret Ramsay to Calder chastizing him for failing to respect Wright's rights to her translation of Roland Dubillard's "The Swallows." Calder's ability to use translations without the permission of Wright or her agent and his failure to insist upon her name in the billing reflect the translator's lack of recognition and authorship. However, Ramsay's fierce defense of Wright's claims to the work also show that a number of her colleagues recognized her skill and dedication to her work, regardless of her legal rights.
Letter from Gallenzi, head of OneWorld Classic, to Wright addressing proposed changes to her translation. Wright’s vehement refusal to make the changes to Exercises in Style proposed in this letter is likely due to the devotion to the text inherent in her translation process. The “minor” changes suggested by OneWorld Classic undermine the thoroughness of her meticulous exercise notebooks and obsessive research, presenting a deep insult to Wright as a translator and, therefore, to Wright herself.