I have just spent four hours on an application for grant funding. I ache as much as if I had been doing manual labour! Why is this process so awful? I did smile, though, at the assurances that the process is not intended to be a barrier to applicants – an assurance contained in a PDF guide to applying which was itself 57 pages long!
The application is for money to translate from Old Slavonic Methodius’ De resurrectione and De autexusio, plus the Greek fragments of each, plus whatever remains of other works in Greek. The price tag is a lot more than I can afford to spend, and the work does need doing.
After all, nobody is ever likely to translate Methodius into English again. An academic would need Greek and Old Slavonic, and that isn’t such a common combination. And, as we all know, the way that research funding is set up, just making a translation is not “research”. So how does it ever get to happen?
Anyway I thought I’d see if anyone might fund the work.
It’s slightly daunting to realise that the timescale for the project is 18 months of my life! Ouch! I just wish I could think of some way to get some money out of it myself. A good project is one that profits everyone.
I’ve produced a combined version of De Lepra, and I’ve today had back some comments from Ralph Cleminson on the differences between the Old Slavonic and the Greek. I hope to work on this later today, and I hope to get it out of the door.
I rather grudge the time on that application. I had so much useful to do, and that time is all gone. Rats! And I know that I need to reread that application and make sure it explicitly answers the questions asked, rather than rambling.
It’s probably all time wasted. But I do have to try.
It’s too bad you don’t have a university partner for this, as they would be more accustomed to grant applications and they might have some translation-capable folks around the place.
OTOH, it’s better to have stuff in the pipeline now than to be waiting five zillion years for a response.
You’re right of course. But sadly we lone wolves prowl the wilderness by ourselves. And howl from time to time 🙂
My deepest sympathy. If you succeed (best wishes), you will truly revive Methodius. And that IS an asset for everybody.
Thank you very much for the encouragement. Merhodius certainly deserves to be better known. Let’s see if I can find my way through the obstacles!