North Dakota State professor provides first English translation of Sorbian novel

Oct. 25—GRAND FORKS — John Cox, a professor of history at NDSU, has provided the first English language translation of "The Cherry Tree," a novel published by Sorbian author Jurij Koch.

Sorbian is a Slavic language, closely related to Czech and Polish, spoken by an ethnic minority inhabiting the historical region of Lusatia. Lusatia comprises the modern German states of Brandenburg and Saxony, and the Polish region of Lower Silesia, which borders Germany.

According to Cox, there are approximately 60,000 Sorbs residing in Lusatia. Their language's minority status was largely respected until the Third Reich, when Hitler attempted to Germanize the Sorbs in an effort to eradicate their language.

Following the Nazis' defeat in World War II, Cox says that Sorbian underwent a resurgence due to state support from the new government in East Germany.

"The new communist government of East Germany wanted the group to recover and flourish — to show that Germany could be proud of its diversity," Cox said. "Today, many of the subsidies are gone in reunified Germany, but bilingual road signs and some educational opportunities in Sorbian exist. There are still church services — mostly Catholic and some Lutheran — in Sorbian, stage plays, musical groups and various folklore events."

Koch was born in 1936 in the Saxon village of Horka. According to Cox, Koch has been writing since the 1960s, both as a reporter and author of fiction. He writes in both Sorbian and German.

"I translated the novel into English from German," said Cox, who is fluent in German. "Jurij either personally translates his Sorbian works into German, or has a translator assist him."

The novel will be published in North Dakota Quarterly, UND's literary magazine. It is the first novel-length work to be published in the magazine since 1984, according to a press release from UND.

Bill Caraher, associate professor of history at UND and editor of the Quarterly, said that "The Cherry Tree's" inclusion will be significant for the magazine.

"NDQ has long straddled the line between academic and popular works," said Caraher in a statement within UND's press release regarding the book. "Cox's translation of 'The Cherry Tree' is a great example of the kind of fertile ground that exists at this intersection. The novella is a serious work of literature deserving of critical appreciation, but also the kind of work that is accessible to a wider audience."

Interested readers can download a free digital copy of "The Cherry Tree," via UND's Digital Press, or purchase a paperback copy for a small fee.