Rudder, Robert S(ween) 1937-

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RUDDER, Robert S(ween) 1937-

PERSONAL: Born August 9, 1937, in Long Beach, CA; son of George Walter and Nora (Sween) Rudder; married Karen E. Foshee, December 28, 1963; children: Elizabeth Ann, Christopher Michael. Education: University of Redlands, B.A., 1959; University of Minnesota, M.A., 1964, Ph.D., 1968.

ADDRESSES: Home—1556 Lafayette Rd., Claremont, CA 91711. Agent—Laura Dail Literary Agency, Inc., 250 West 57th St., New York, NY 10107.

CAREER: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, instructor in Spanish literature, 1963-68; University of California, Los Angeles, assistant professor of Spanish literature, 1968-1976; California State University, Los Angeles, lecturer in Spanish, 1991—. Consultant to National Endowment for the Humanities, 1977—. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1960-62.

MEMBER: Modern Language Association of America, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Philological Association for the Pacific Coast.

WRITINGS:

(Translator) Arturo Serrano Plaja, "Magic" Realism in Cervantes: "Don Quixote" As Seen through "Tom Sawyer" and "The Idiot," University of California Press (Berkeley, CA), 1970.

(Editor and translator) The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes: His Fortunes and Misfortunes, with a Sequel by Juan de Luna (sequel translated with Carmen Criado de Rodriguez Puertolas), Ungar (New York, NY), 1973.

(Editor, with Gerardo Luzuriaga, and translator) The Orgy: Modern One-Act Plays from Latin America, Latin American Center, University of California (Los Angeles, CA), 1974.

(Compiler and editor) The Literature of Spain in English Translation: A Bibliography, Ungar (New York, NY), 1975.

(Editor, and translator with Gloria Arjona) Rosario Castellano, City of Kings, Latin American Literary Review Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1993.

(Translator with Arjona) Benito Pérez Galdós, Nazarín, Latin American Literary Review Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 1997.

(Editor, and translator with Arjona) Francisco Rojas González, The Medicine Man, Latin American Literary Review Press (Pittsburgh, PA), 2000

(Translator with Arjona) Christina Peri Rossi, Solitaire of Love, Duke University Press (Durham, NC), 2000.

Also author of English subtitles for Spanish films. Contributor of articles, poems, translations of poetry, stories, plays, and reviews to literary publications, including Poet Lore, Minnesota Review, Greenfield Review, Kentucky Romance Quarterly, Explicacion de textos literarios, Estudios filológicos, La picaresca, and Hispania. Member of editorial board of Explicacion de textos literarios.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Translating Afternoon of the Dinosaur and The Siege.

SIDELIGHTS: Robert S. Rudder is a Spanish professor who has edited and translated several books by Hispanic authors. He has also written books on the subject. Myron I. Lichtblau, writing in Hispania, called Rudder's The Literature of Spain in English Translation a "unique scholarly bibliography [which] supersedes all previous works in the area, and fills a longstanding need in Hispanic studies and comparative literature." Lichtblau continued: "Rudder's work is a milestone in bibliographical research, and is an outstanding contribution to its field."

In Latin American Theatre Review, Maria A. Salgado wrote of The Orgy: Modern One-Act Plays from Latin America: "The editors have done an excellent job in selecting eleven one-act plays written by established playwrights, all well-known in Latin America's theatrical circles. By and large the editors have done an adequate job of translation, and have succeeded in recreating much of the original lively and natural dialogue."

Plays translated by Rudder have been performed at the University of Oregon, University of Vermont, Los Angeles Actors Theatre and have been broadcast in Norway. He told CA: "I write because it is second nature to me. I would like to believe that some of it is entertaining."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Books Abroad, winter, 1976; spring, 1976.

Choice, February, 1974.

Hispania, September, 1976.

Latin American Theatre Review, fall, 1975.