Ville Keynäs

Born March 6, 1960, Helsinki

Bachelor of Arts (Comparative Literature) 1992, University of Helsinki

Full-time translator 1992–

Various odd jobs: nurse auxiliary at the Rinnekoti Foundation, movie poster tape remover at the Finnish Film Archive, internal post messenger and packager at Stockmann department store and logistics worker at Polar Express, which later became Scansped.

Occasional translation teacher in various courses organized by the University of Helsinki and in master’s classes of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters.

Translations:
Georges Perec: Tiloja/Avaruuksia (1992), orig. Espéces d'espaces, ‘Species of Spaces and Other Pieces’
Claude Lévi-Strauss: Tropiikin kasvot (1997), orig. Tristes Tropiques
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Tutkielma ihmisten välisestä eriarvoisuudesta (2000), orig. Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes, ‘Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men’
Georges Perec: Elämä käyttöohje (2006), orig. La Vie mode d'emploi, ‘Life a User’s Manual’
François Rabelais: Pantagruelin kolmas kirja (2009), orig. Le tiers livre, ‘The Third Book’
Philippe Claudel: Varjojen raportti (2009), orig. Le rapport de Brodeck, ‘Brodeck’s Report’
Andreï Makine: Tuntemattoman miehen elämä (2010), orig. La Vie d'un homme inconnu, ‘The Life of an Unknown Man’
François Rabelais: Pantagruelin neljäs kirja (2014), orig. Le quart livre du Pantagruel, ‘The Fourth Book of Pantagruel’.

Awards
Tähtivaeltaja Award of the Helsinki Science Fiction Society 1993, 1994 and 2002
Nuori Voima Recognition Prize 1998
Maurice de Coppet Fund Prize 2007
WSOY Literature Foundation Prize 2008
France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevalier medal 2009
Mikael Agricola Prize for Best Translation of the Year 2010

Photo: Mika Federley
Written by Ville Keynäs and Tero Juutilainen (ed.)
Translated by Joe McVeigh

Translating is the hardest thing…

…that I can imagine doing.

I never studied French or Finnish in the university. I particularly wish I’d studied the latter sometimes, for instance when my colleagues use difficult grammatical terms in conversation and I’m not sure what they are talking about. On the other hand, I think my studies in literature have been incredibly useful. I think I have a feel for how literature works.

When you translate a bit longer, you start to develop a certain routine. It is both a good and a bad thing. Good because you don’t need to ponder over every problem for as long. Bad because every text is unique and you shouldn’t approach the work with a pre-conceived set of solutions.

If you ask me, the most important skill of a literary translator is a certain kind of musical aptitude. The ability to interpret (=translate) a piece of music (=the source text) with your own instrument (=your native language).

My wife Anu Partanen is also a translator. We always read each other’s translations and we are constantly learning from one another. In addition to literature, we both translate Donald Duck into Finnish. Sometimes I’m a bit sad because it seems to be the only thing that people remember us for.

I have served in the board of the society for the Finnish poet Eino Leino, and in the board of the guild of Finnish translators, KAOS, which was founded in 2014. Through KAOS, I have been involved in the organization of a conference for Finnish translators held in Järvilinna, Laukaa, in August 2015.

By Written by Ville Keynäs. Edited by Tero Juutilainen. Translated by Olli Silvennoinen. Revised by Joe McVeigh.

Ville Keynäs

Born March 6, 1960, Helsinki

Bachelor of Arts (Comparative Literature) 1992, University of Helsinki

Full-time translator 1992–

Occasional translation teacher in various courses organized by the University of Helsinki and in master’s classes of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters.