{{short description|Canadian documentary filmmaker and literary translator (born 1940)}} {{Infobox person | name = Donald Winkler | image = Donald Winkler au SLM 2018.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Donald Winkler in 2018 | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = Donald Winkler | birth_date = 1940 | birth_place = [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]], Canada | baptised = | disappeared_date = | disappeared_place = | disappeared_status = | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | body_discovered = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | monuments = | other_names = | citizenship = | education = | alma_mater = [[University of Manitoba]]<br />[[Yale School of Drama]] | occupation = [[Filmmaker]], [[Translator]] | years_active = | employer = | organization = | agent = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | height = | television = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | criminal_charge = | criminal_penalty = | criminal_status = | spouse = [[Sheila Fischman]] | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | callsign = | awards = [[Governor General's Award]] | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | website = {{URL|http://www.donaldwinkler.com/}} }} '''Donald Winkler''' (born 1940) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and French-to-English literary translator.<ref name="KING">{{Cite web|url = https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/|title = Donald Winkler|date = 2015|accessdate = November 21, 2015|website = Kingston WritersFest|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref><ref name="BIO">{{Cite web|url = http://donaldwinkler.com/?page_id=129|title = Biography|date = |accessdate = November 21, 2015|website = Donald Winkler|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref> He lives in Montreal with his wife [[Sheila Fischman]].<ref name="WALRUS">{{Cite web|url = http://thewalrus.ca/donald-winkler/|title = Donald Winkler: An interview with the winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for Translation |date = December 5, 2013|accessdate = November 21, 2015|website = The Walrus|publisher = |last = Russell Brunet|first = Julien}}</ref>
==Life and career==
===Early life=== Winkler was born in [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba and grew up loving theatre.<ref name="AFA">{{Cite web|url = http://www.afana.org/winkler.htm|title = Donald Winkler|date = |accessdate = November 21, 2015|website = AFA|publisher = Academic Film Archive of North America|last = Alexander|first = Geoff}}</ref> He was introduced to French through his mother who studied the language in [[Romania]] before coming to Canada when she was fifteen years old.<ref name="KING" /> As a student, he took French courses alongside his literary studies at the [[University of Manitoba]] where he graduated in 1961.<ref name="KING" /> He also went on to do graduate studies at the [[Yale School of Drama]].<ref name="BIO"/> In his early twenties, he spent a year and a half in Paris teaching English where he enjoyed watching films at the [[Cinématheque Française|Cinématheque]] and the little [[Latin Quarter]] art houses.<ref name="AFA" /> When he returned to Canada, he was drawn to Montreal because, for him, it was "the only city in the country at that time cosmopolitan enough".<ref name="AFA" /> The city was also the headquarters for the [[National Film Board of Canada]], where Winkler first began making films.<ref name="AFA" /> He applied for an apprenticeship position that did not require film experience and was hired in 1967 when one of the three initial applicants declined the offer.<ref name="AFA" /> He learned the trade on the job and within a couple of years, began working on his first film.<ref name="AFA" />
===Film career=== Winkler has been an independent filmmaker since leaving the National Film Board where he worked as a documentary film director and writer from 1967 to 1995.<ref name="KING" /> His films primarily deal with the arts and culture in Canada.<ref name="KING" /> He wrote and directed a number of films that look into the lives of Canadian playwrights, writers and musicians such as [[Irving Layton]], [[F. R. Scott]], [[P. K. Page]], [[Al Purdy]], [[Earle Birney]], [[Ralph Gustafson]] and [[Tomson Highway]].<ref name="KING" /> In the year 2005, he entered his three films: ''Moshe Safdie: The Power of Architecture'', ''The Pines of Emily Carr'' and ''The Colour of Memory: Conversations with Guido Molinari'' into the International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal.<ref>{{Cite news|title = And Winkler Makes Three |date = March 5, 2005 |publisher = The Gazette|last = Griffin|first = John}}</ref>
In 1993, his documentary film ''[[Breaking a Leg: Robert Lepage and the Echo Project]]'' was a [[Genie Award]] nominee for [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary|Best Short Documentary]] at the [[14th Genie Awards]].<ref>"And Genie nominations ...". ''[[Hamilton Spectator]]'', October 20, 1993.</ref>
===Translation=== Winkler first began translating [[Quebec literature]] in the late 1980s.<ref name="BIO"/> Although he never studied translation, he has since translated over 25 works including novels, poetry and essays.<ref name="MALAHAT">{{Cite web|url = http://www.malahatreview.ca/interviews/winkler_interview.html|title = A Shadow on Plato's Wall: Benjamin Willems in Conversation with Donald Winkler|date = 2014|accessdate = November 21, 2015|website = The Malahat Review|publisher = University of Victoria|last = Willems|first = Benjamin}}</ref><ref name="TRAN">{{Cite web|url = http://donaldwinkler.com/?page_id=86|title = Translations|date = |accessdate = November 21, 2015|website = Donald Winkler|last = |first = }}</ref> He is a member of the [[Literary Translators' Association of Canada]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.attlc-ltac.org/directory_members|title=Directory of Members|last=|first=|date=|website=ATTLC|publisher=Literary Translator's Association of Canada|accessdate=November 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222083742/http://www.attlc-ltac.org/directory_members|archive-date=December 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Carmine Starnino]] describes Winkler as "one of [Canada's] most gifted and highly decorated practitioners."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.partisanmagazine.com/blog/2015/6/8/why-the-book-im-about-to-publish-will-be-ignored|title=Why the book I'm about to publish will be ignored|last=Starnino|first=Carmine|date=June 9, 2015|website=|publisher=Partisan Magazine|access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref> Winkler describes the process of translation as "a constant quest for perfect pitch" and a "sophisticated word game".<ref name="WALRUS" /><ref name="MALAHAT" /> A successful translation, in his words, gives readers "some sense of what it's like to be in another culture's skin".<ref name="MALAHAT" /> His translations have been described as "seamless" and "wonderful".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.quillandquire.com/omni/2015-books-of-the-year/|title=2015: Books of the Year|last=Q&Q Staff|date=December 2015|website=Quill and Quire|publisher=|access-date=December 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2015/11/30/oh-canada-a-new-translation-by-donald-winkler-of-samuel-archibalds-arvida/|title=Oh Canada: Donald Winkler's New Translation of Samuel Archibald's Arvida|last=Siemens|first=Gnaomi|date=November 30, 2015|website=Asymptote Journal|publisher=|access-date=December 5, 2015}}</ref> [[Sheila Fischman]], his spouse, is also an award-winning translator. He describes her as the "doyenne of Canadian literary translation".<ref name="WALRUS"/>
==== Awards and nominations ==== Donald Winker has won the [[Governor General's Award]] for Translation three times: * in 1994, for ''The Lyric Generation: The Life and Times of the Baby-Boomers'' by [[François Ricard]]'','' * in 2011, for ''Partitia for Glenn Gould'' by Georges Leroux, * and in 2013, for ''The Major Verbs'' by [[Pierre Nepveu]]. His work was also nominated for the Governor General's Award on three separate occasions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ggbooks.canadacouncil.ca/~/media/ggbooks/2015/documents/ggla_en_2015.pdf|title=English-Language Winners of the Governor General's Literary Awards 1936-2014|last=|first=|date=|website=Governor General's Literary Awards|publisher=Canada Council for the Arts|accessdate=November 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ggbooks.ca/~/media/ggbooks/2016/lists/cumulative%20winners%202016.pdf|title=Cumulative List of Winners of the Governor General's Literary Awards|last=|first=|date=2016|website=ggbooks.ca|publisher=Canada Council for the Arts|access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220074910/http://ggbooks.ca/~/media/ggbooks/2016/lists/cumulative%20winners%202016.pdf|archive-date=December 20, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Donald Winkler was nominated for the [[Scotiabank Giller Prize|Giller Prize]] twice: * in 2007, for ''A Secret Between Us'' by [[Daniel Poliquin]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/245586952/|title=Newspaper Story Sparked Novel Idea for York; Polygamy Piece Led Giller Nominee to Mountain Meadows Massacre|last=Donnelly|first=Pat|date=November 4, 2007|work=Calgary Herald|access-date=November 16, 2016|id={{ProQuest|245586952}}}}</ref> * and in 2015, for ''Arvida'' by [[Samuel Archibald (writer)|Samuel Archibald]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1719189704/|title=Giller Prize Announces Shortlist, which Includes Short Fiction and a Work-in-Translation|last=Medley|first=Mark|date=October 6, 2015|work=The Globe and Mail|access-date=November 16, 2016|id={{ProQuest|1719189704}}}}</ref> In addition, he won the [[Quebec Writers' Federation Awards|Quebec Writers' Federation's Cole Foundation Translation Prize]] for his translation of ''The Major Verbs'' by [[Pierre Nepveu]],<ref name="BIO" /> and in 1987, he received an honorable mention at the [[Literary Translators' Association of Canada|Literary Translators' Association of Canada]]'s John Glassco Prize for Literary Translation for his translation entitled ''Rose and Thorn'': ''The Selected Poetry by Roland Giguère''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.attlc-ltac.org/john-glassco-translation-prize|title=John Glassco Translation Prize {{!}} attlc-ltac.org|website=www.attlc-ltac.org|access-date=2016-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111143406/http://attlc-ltac.org/john-glassco-translation-prize|archive-date=2016-11-11|url-status=dead}}</ref> Winkler's translation of ''Arvida'' by [[Samuel Archibald (writer)|Samuel Archibald]] was also [[Short list|short-listed]] for the 2016 [[Best Translated Book Award]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?id=17442|title=2016 Best Translated Book Award Finalists!|last=Post|first=Chad|date=April 19, 2016|website=|publisher=Three Percent|access-date=December 5, 2016}}</ref>
==== List of Translations ==== {| class="wikitable" !Title<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://donaldwinkler.com/?page_id=86|title=Translations {{!}} Donald Winkler|website=donaldwinkler.com|access-date=2016-11-16}}</ref> !Author !Year |- |''And God Created the French'' |Louis-Bernard Robitaille |1997 |- |''Are You Married to a Psychopath?'' |[[Nadine Bismuth]] |2010 |- |''Arvida'' |[[Samuel Archibald (writer)|Samuel Archibald]] |2015 |- |''A Secret Between Us'' |[[Daniel Poliquin]] |2007 |- |''Conversations with Jean-Paul Riopelle'' |Gilbert Erouart and [[Jean-Paul Riopelle]] |1995 |- |''Crac'' |Paul Savoie |2016 |- |''Eucalyptus'' |Mauricio Segura |2013 |- |''Exile'' |[[Gilles Vigneault]] |2010 |- |''Forty-Seven Stations for a Ravaged Town'' |Jacques Rancourt |2015 |- |''In the Name of the Father'' |[[Daniel Poliquin]] |2001 |- |''Jeanniot: Taking Aviation to New Heights'' |Jacqueline Cardinal and Laurent Lapierre |2013 |- |''Latest News from the Cosmos'' |[[Hubert Reeves]] |1997 |- |''Malicorne'' |[[Hubert Reeves]] |1993 |- |''Montcalm & Wolfe: Two Men Who Forever Changed the Course of Canadian History'' |[[Roch Carrier]] |2014 |- |''Of Jesuits and Bohemians'' |[[Jean-Claude Germain]] |2014 |- |''Partitia for Glenn Gould'' |Georges Leroux |2010 |- |''Pluriel: An Anthology of Diverse Voices'' |Various authors |2008 |- |''Romans Fleuves'' |[[Pierre Nepveu]] |1998 |- |''Rose and Thorn'': ''The Selected Poetry by Roland Giguère'' |Roland Giguère |1988 |- |''Rue Fabre: Centre of the Universe'' |[[Jean-Claude Germain]] |2012 |- |''Terracide'' |[[Hubert Reeves]] |2009 |- |''The Bad Mother'' |[[Marguerite Andersen]] |2016 |- |''The Lyric Generation: The Life and Times of the Baby-Boomers'' |[[François Ricard]] |1994 |- |''The Major Verbs'' |[[Pierre Nepveu]] |2012 |- |''The Storm'' |Léon Courville |1995 |- |''The Universe Explained to my Grandchildren'' |[[Hubert Reeves]] |2012 |- |''The World of the Gift'' |[[Jacques Godbout|Jacques T. Godbout]] |1998 |- |''To the Spring, by Night'' |[[Seyhmus Dagtekin]] |2013 |- |''You Will Love What You Have Killed'' |[[Kevin Lambert]] |2020 |}
== Further reading == # [https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/swearing-in-translation nationalpost.com] # http://www.cbc.ca/books/2016/04/giller-finalist-samuel-archibald-nominated-for-20k-international-book-prize.html # http://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/2015/11/30/oh-canada-a-new-translation-by-donald-winkler-of-samuel-archibalds-arvida/ # https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/samuel-archibald/arvida/ # http://books2.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=/ebooks/ebooks3/upress/2014-01-23/1/9780773589858 # http://books1.scholarsportal.info/viewdoc.html?id=/ebooks/ebooks0/gibson_crkn/2009-12-01/3/405763&page=176
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Governor General's French to English translation|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winkler, Donald}} [[Category:1940 births]] [[Category:Canadian documentary film directors]] [[Category:National Film Board of Canada people]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]] [[Category:20th-century Canadian translators]] [[Category:Governor General's Award–winning translators]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Film directors from Winnipeg]] [[Category:Film directors from Montreal]] [[Category:University of Manitoba alumni]] [[Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni]] [[Category:Anglophone Quebec people]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian male writers]] [[Category:21st-century Canadian translators]]