Philippe Noble wins first Prix des Phares du Nord
Philippe Noble has received the first Prix des Phares du Nord for his translations of Dutch literature into French. The prize-giving ceremony was held in Paris on Friday 20 January 2006. The Prix des Phares du Nord is a new biennial award for the best French translation of an important Dutch-language work.
The prize was created by the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature and the Flemish Foundation for Literature. The Prix des Phares du Nord carries a financial reward of € 5000. Philippe Noble has built up an impressive oeuvre of translations from Dutch into French, having translated more than 35 books by J. Bernlef, Anne Frank, Arnon Grunberg, Etty Hillesum, Harry Mulisch, Multatuli, Cees Nooteboom, E. du Perron, P.F. Thomése and Leon de Winter, among others. In addition, he has contributed translations to many French-language anthologies of Dutch and Flemish stories and poems.
In 1981, Philippe Noble received the Martinus Nijhoff Prize for Le pays d’origine (Gallimard, 1980), his French translation of Het land van herkomst (Country of Origin) by E. du Perron. Besides as a translator, he has also contributed in many other ways to the visibility of Dutch literature in French-speaking areas.
