Honors

July 8 2021:

French Voices Grand Prize Winner for The Mediterranean Wall by Louis-Philippe Dalembert, translated from the French by Marjolijn de Jager (Schaffner Press, Inc.: June 1, 2021). This annual award is sponsored by the Cultural Services division of the French Embassy in the U.S. in recognition of “the quality of both the original work and the translation” and epitomizes “the many facets of a vibrant French literary scene.” The annual Grand Prize winners — one each for fiction and non-fiction — receive $10,000, shared by publisher (60%) and translator (40%).

May 15 2019:

Best Translated Book Award Fiction Finalist for Congo Inc.: Bismarck’s Testament by In Koli Jean Bofane, translated from the French by Marjolijn de Jager (Indiana University Press) (Award Info)

24 September – 23 October 2015:

Translator-in-Residence at HET VERTALERSHUIS / THE TRANSLATORS’ HOUSE in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the invitation of the Netherlands Letterenfonds / Dutch Foundation for Literature: a one-month grant to continue work on the translation of Dr. Eric Storm’s De Ontdekking van El Greco (The Discovery of EL GRECO).

10 April – 15 May 2014:

Translator-in-Residence at HET VERTALERSHUIS / THE TRANSLATORS’ HOUSE in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the invitation of the Nederlands Letterenfonds/ Dutch Foundation for Literature: a one-month grant to continue work on the translation of Dr. Dick van Galen-Last’s De Zwarte Schande (Black Shame).

1 January – 31 January 2012:

Translator-in-Residence at HET VERTALERSHUIS / THE TRANSLATORS’ HOUSE in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the invitation of the Nederlands Letterenfonds/ Dutch Foundation for Literature a one-month grant to continue work on the translation of Dr. Hendrika Freud’s Mannen en moeders (Men and Mothers).

13-17 April 2011:

ALA Distinguished Member Award
For Outstanding Service to the ALA (African Literature Association) and Exemplary Commitment to Translation, Teaching and Scholarship in African Literature and Film Studies – 2011.

1 January – 31 January 2010:

Translator-in-Residence at HET VERTALERSHUIS / THE TRANSLATORS’ HOUSE in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, at the invitation of the Dutch Foundation for Literature (a 2010 merger of the two associations previously known as the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature (NLPVF) and the Fonds voor de Letteren (FvdL).

28 August – 30 September 2007:

Translator-in-Residence at “Les Subsistances” in Lyon, France, at the invitation of the VILLA GILLET, Lyon.

2004:

NEA (National Endowment of the Arts)
Poetry Translation Grant for 2005 for selected poetry of the Dutch poet, Huub Beurskens.

2001:

Invited to membership on the Executive Committee of the Women Writing Africa Project, The Feminist Press of the City University of New York.  Volume 1, The Southern Region, published 2002. Volume 2, West Africa, published 2004.

3-9 Sept. 2000:

Driebergen, The Netherlands: a one-week retraining course for instructors of Dutch–language and culture–abroad.  Under the aegis and financial support of the Nederlandse TaalUnie, The Hague.

Summer 1996:

NEH Fellowship for Teachers of Foreign Languages; 5 weeks of travel to Senegal, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire.
Purpose: to film a documentary video on the topic “Learning through the Arts, primarily at the VILLAGE KI-YI, founded by Werewere LIKING, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Summer 1990:

NEH Summer Seminar for Secondary School Teachers:
“Africa, Literature, Politics, and History” – CUNY-Graduate School,
New York City, under the direction of Professor L.I. Markowitz.

Summer 1988:

Rockefeller Foundation Grant for Teachers of Foreign Languages ;
8 weeks of travel and study in West-Africa (Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso).
Purpose: to edit an advanced level reader for secondary students of French.

Summer 1977:

NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers:
“Tragedy” – UCLA-Berkeley under the direction of Professor Norman Rabkin.

1967-1970:

NDEA Title IV Federal Grant for the Ph.D. Program
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: M.A.-1969; Ph.D.-1975.

1955-1956:

Fulbright Scholarship for Foreign Students
Arrived from The Netherlands for a year’s study at Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri.