What started as a translation bug as an undergrad studying abroad in Rome, Italy, has grown to an award-winning translation career for this University of Oregon College of Arts and Sciences PhD alumna.

CAS PhD comparative literature alumna Jamie Richards won the 2024 National Translation in Prose award for her work on Mariosa Castaldi’s “The Hunger of Women.” During her PhD studies at the UO, Richards studied translation, leading to a career in Italian literature. Following her PhD, she moved to Milan, allowing her to be closer to the texts she worked with, ultimately leading her to finding “The Hunger of Women” in 2023.

Richards, who graduated with her PhD from CAS in 2014, first fell in love with translating during a semester abroad at Temple University in Rome, Italy, where she took her first translation class.

“I was studying Italian, but I wasn't an Italian major, and I hadn't really thought about it before, so that was my first exposure to translating,” Richards said. “And then after that, I never stopped. I guess I got the translation bug.”

That “translation bug” would motivate her to pursue an MFA in literary translation from the University of Iowa. As a master’s student at Iowa, she explored translation through creative workshops and rigorous courses. At UO, she continued to focus on the theoretical side of translation.

“It’s a lens through which you could view world literature and think about what in those texts or those translations has an effect or is appreciated in their receiving culture. I kept thinking about those things throughout the PhD,” Richards said. She also received foundational preparation in the Italian literary canon.

Studying and teaching as a graduate student led to more than a PhD. While conducting research in Milan for her dissertation, a fellow UO instructor introduced her to her future husband. Once Richards graduated from the UO, she moved to Milan, where she lived for 10 years with her husband and did translation work.

Throughout her time in Milan, Richards was able to explore new aspects of her translation work. Part of this exploration included meeting with some of the authors whose work she was translating, including Mariosa Castaldi.

Richards first heard of “The Hunger of Woman” through the 2015 World Expo in Milan, whose theme was Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life. Richards began to research the book, the author and whether the work had been translated to English.

“I got in touch with the writer, and we were able to meet. That's how I started working on that book and then became really interested in all of her work,” Richards said. “In my introduction, I wrote a little bit about meeting her. I don’t always meet my writers, but she was a special personality.”

After several years of translation and working with publishers, Richards published her translation of The Hunger of Woman in 2023. The American Literary Translators Association awarded her the 2024 National Translation Award in prose for her work on Castaldi’s book. As well as winning the NTA award, she was also shortlisted for the Italian Prose Award.

Alongside translation, Richards still teaches when she can, through workshops and residences. She was also invited to give a lecture in 2024 for the comparative literature department, where she called for increased dialogue between translation in academia and the larger literary world. She says she wants to be open as a resource for students and academics, because she was so supported during her time at UO.

“I miss Eugene. I love the University of Oregon. I had so many wonderful colleagues,” Richards said. “At the graduate student level, there was a really high level of camaraderie. It was a really nurturing environment and I wouldn’t be here today without that piece in my development.”