Talk on Mya Than Tint
Last weekend, San Mon Aung and his Yangon Book Plaza held a public discussion on the works of legendary translator Mya Than Tint. Historical novelist Chit Oo Nyo, Han Zaw (Han Sann) from Pen Myanmar and other writers explored the effect the great man had on literary translation in Myanmar …
Mya Than Tint, despite passing away in 2011, is still one of the most influential translators of the post war generation. Prolific in the 1960’s and 1970s, his English to Burmese translation of western classics like Gone with the Wind and War and Peace garnered him with 5 National Literary Wards until he fell foul of the ruling junta and spent several years in prison, most notably on the infamous Cocos Island prison system for suspected leftist sympathies.
His books still sell well, often going through multiple reprints every two or three years despite being priced at an above normal range of 8000 to 10,000 MMK.
Image credit @moemaka.wordpress.com