A 20th anniversary conference is an appropriate time to reflect on ALTA's achievements as an organization. Clearly, ALTA has helped improve the professional standing of literary translators, and Translation Review has provided a unique forum for a critical discussion of translation issues. Over the years, ALTA conferences have been occasions to renew a sense of community and shared purpose, and to ritualize our professional visibility.

Implicit in this year's "translation celebration" is the collective assumption that the organization has survived its formative years and is now stable, recognized, and securely established. To a great extent, that assumption is well-founded. However, there are signs that a discussion about the future stability and security of ALTA is in order. From the precipice of the 20th year, it is appropriate to ask if ALTA will be in existence 10 or 20 years from now. And, if it prevails, how stable and secure will the organization be in future years?

There is enough cause for concern to say that while ALTA observes the watershed 20th anniversary, it is also at a critical crossroads. There are some stark facts that need to be recognized. ALTA membership peaked in 1990 with 1,000 individual memberships. Since 1990, membership has fluctuated between 600 and 800. As the conference begins this October, we have a critical mass of 500 members with many regular members unrenewed. The National Endowment for the Arts grants that have sustained ALTA since 1980 are gone. For the first time in our history we are totally reliant on members' dues and the largesse of The University of Texas at Dallas. Declining membership and reduced funding are sobering indicators of ALTA's current status. In addition, submissions of all kinds to Translation Review have decreased significantly. It is not my intention to diminish the spirit of the celebration at this year's conference, but as we toast the past, there are some resolutions to be made if ALTA is to have a productive future. Recruitment of members, former and new, needs to be emphasized. Institutional memberships, which generate substantial revenue, should be increased. Additional sources of income, private and public, need to be explored. Young translators especially should be encouraged, trained, and recruited.

If ALTA is to be revitalized, that work cannot be left to a few individuals and officers. If ALTA is to survive another decade, there need to be candid discussions involving all current members.
[October, 1997]

Thomas Hoeksema is the translator of several books from the works of Mexican poets. They include Selected Poems (1975) and Poems in the Lap of Death (1981) by Isabel Fraire, Selected Poems (1987) and Signals from the Flames (1980) by José Emilio Pacheco, and The Fertile Rhythms: Contemporary Women Poets of Mexico (1989). He is a Professor of English at New Mexico State University.