Upcoming Translation Events (Virtual & In-Person): November 2024

Wednesday, November 6:
Brooklyn: Layla Martínez on Woodworm with Melissa Lozada-Oliva | Books Are Magic in Brooklyn welcomes Spanish writer Layla Martínez to discuss the English release of her debut novel, Woodworm, translated by Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott. She will be in conversation with Melissa Lozada-Oliva. Registration required. In-person. Hosted by Books are Magic. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)
De albas y sombras: dos poetas latinoamericanas en traducción | Silvia Guerra (Uruguay) y Tilsa Otta (Perú), acompañadas de sus traductores, Jesse Kercheval y Farid Matuk, presentado por Mariela Dreyfus, MFA co-founder and faculty. Lectura Bilingüe seguida de Q&A. In-person. Hosted by Espacio de Culturas at KJCC and NYU Creative Writing in Spanish. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Thursday, November 7:
Meet the World: Ká-sióng: Imagining a Different World Through Taiwanese Literature | Join us in celebrating Ká-sióng, a new series of chapbooks from Strangers Press focusing on literature from Taiwan, edited by Jeremy Tiang. Three translators, Jenna Tang, Lin King and Wen-Chi Li, will explore the themes emerging from these stories, and the challenge of bringing Taiwan literature to a wider readership. They will be in conversation with the author, translator and academic, Ta-Wei Chi. RSVP required. Virtual. Hosted by the National Center for Writing, in partnership with the British Centre for Literary Translation and UEA Publishing Project. More info here. 8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. (ET)
Monday, November 11:
The Next Orbits: Sharon Dodua Otoo in Conversation | The Next Orbits features Sharon Dodua Otoo and translator Dr. Jon Cho-Polizzi in a discussion of Otoo's novel Ada's Room. The author and her English translator will discuss the work, the author’s co-curation of the literary festival Resonanzen, as well as the two’s ongoing collaborations. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by Goethe-Institut New York. More info here. Starts at 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Tuesday, November 12:
Damion Searls with Spencer Ruchti: The Philosophy of Translation | Join Third Place Books, Community Bookstore, and the Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith for a discussion with translator Damion Searls for his new book about the art, practice, and philosophy of translation—a book at once accessible to academics, students of translation, seasoned translators, and the general, curious reader. Searls will be joined in conversation by Third Place Books author events manager Spencer Ruchti. RSVP required. Virtual. Hosted by Third Place Books. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Wednesday, November 13:
The 2024 Words Without Borders Virtual Gala | Join WWB for a festive virtual evening of literary readings by some of the world's most dazzling writers and translators. It’s a celebration of the power of global literature! Featuring readings and virtual greetings from around the world, it’ll be a virtual night of international community. Virtual. Hosted by Words Without Borders. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Latinx Online Showcase at the National Poetry Library | Discover new poetry and ideas about writing, activism and creativity from contemporary Latinx poets at work today, in Spanish and English. The Poetry Translation Centre will present Argentine poet Laura Wittner, who will share poems from Translation of the Route (Poetry Translation Centre/Bloodaxe Books). She will read both the Spanish originals and the English translations which were made by Juana Adcock. The evening features organizations including Tangled Tongues / Lenguas Enredadas, a writing group founded with the aim of exploring Spanglish as a political and creative medium. Virtual. Hosted by The National Poetry Library. More info here. Starts at 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Crosswords: Mary Jo Bang and Yuki Tanaka | Mary Jo Bang, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, and her fellow poet and translator Yuki Tanaka present the first collection in English of Shuzo Takiguchi’s poetry: A Kiss for the Absolute (Princeton University Press, 2024). These ingenious, playful, and erotic poems will be read in their original Japanese and in English. Following the reading, the two distinguished poets will discuss A Kiss for the Absolute and the translation process. In-person. Hosted by Poets House, in partnership with the Asian American Writers Workshop. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (ET)
Friday, November 15:
A Reading and Conversation with Maria Stepanova and Sasha Dugdale | Please join us for an evening with Maria Stepanova, a Berlin-based Russian poet and prose writer, who will read her original works and speak about living and writing in exile. She will be joined by Sasha Dugdale, her English translator and a poet. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by Hunter College. More info here. Starts at 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Saturday, November 16:
Sasha Dugdale: A Reading from Deformations and The Strongbox | Please join the Harriman Institute for a public reading by Sasha Dugdale. Sasha Dugdale will read from her recent collections, Deformations and The Strongbox, and reflect on the way that translating Russian-language poetry has left a lasting impression on her own poetics. In-person. Hosted by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. More info here. 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Monday, November 18:
Maria Stepanova’s Poetry: Original and In Translation | Please join the Harriman Institute for a poetry reading by Maria Stepanova, who will be joined by her translators Sasha Dugdale and Eugene Ostashevsky. Registration by 4 p.m. (ET) on November 15th required. Hybrid (In-person and Virtual). Hosted by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Tuesday, November 19:
Paul Eprile joins Susan Stewart to discuss Jean Giono’s Fragments of a Paradise | A reading, conversation, and signing with Paul Eprile, translator of Jean Giono’s forthcoming work, Fragments of a Paradise, and fellow translator Susan Stewart. In-person. Hosted by Community Bookstore in Brooklyn. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Crosswords: Carmen Boullosa, Jicky Schnee, and Samantha Schnee | Celebrate The Book of Eve (Deep Vellum, 2023) a feminist twist on the Book of Genesis, by Mexican poet Carmen Boullosa. She is joined in conversation by translator Samantha Schnee and art pieces by Jicky Schee, which will be screened alongside the reading. Afterwards, the two poets will discuss The Book of Eve and the translation process. Readings in Kray Hall with a reception to follow in the Viscusi Reading Room. In-person. Hosted by Poets House. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (ET)
Wednesday, November 20:
Joseph Luzzi and Simone Marchesi on Dante's Divine Comedy with Teodolinda Barolini | Join us for a reading to celebrate Joseph Luzzi's new translation and historical reception of Dante's Divine Comedy. He will be in conversation with Simone Marchesi, who is a contributor to the new illustrated The Divine Comedy. The event will be moderated by Teodolinda Barolini, author and 15th President of the Dante Society of America. In-person. Hosted by Book Culture. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)
Thursday, November 21:
Colloquy: Violent Phenomena | Please join us at the CUNY Graduate Center for the latest installment of Colloquy: Translators in Conversation, with readings and discussion from Madhu Kaza, Elisa Taber, and Hamid Roslan on their recent work for Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation. The event will be introduced and moderated by C. Francis Fisher. Kaza, Taber, and Roslan will share from their recent translations and essays followed by a conversation conducted by Fisher. Colloquy is an event series presented by World Poetry Books in collaboration with Montez Press Radio and partnering event spaces which invites translators to engage with live audiences in an exploration of the art of translation. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by the CUNY Graduate Center. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Mark Pollizzotti presents Scholastique Mukasonga’s Sister Deborah, in conversation with Marta Figlerowicz | Mark Pollizzotti, translator of Scholastique Mukasonga’s Sister Deborah, will join critic and professor Marta Figlerowicz at Lofty Pigeon Books in Kensington, Brooklyn. Figlerowicz wrote an essay on Scholastique Mukasonga that recently ran in The Paris Review and we’re thrilled to hear them discuss Mukasonga’s oeuvre and Mark’s deft translations. In-person. Hosted by Lofty Pigeon Books. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Friday, November 22:
McNally Jackson Office Hours: Paul Eprile teaches Jean Giono’s Fragments of a Paradise | As part of McNally Jackson’s single-session seminar program, Office Hours, Paul Eprile will discuss his translation of Jean Giono’s Fragments of a Paradise. These seminars are capped at 15 people to facilitate deep discussion. Registration and fee required. In-person. Hosted by McNally Jackson. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Book Launch: Severo Sarduy's Barroco and Other Writings | Book presentation with Alex Verdolini in conversation with Emily Apter, Bruno Bosteels and Christopher Wood, and moderated by Iván Hofman. Severo Sarduy was among the most important figures in twentieth-century Latin American fiction and a major representative of the literary tendency to which he gave the name Neobaroque. While most of Sarduy's literary work is available in English, his theoretical writings have largely remained untranslated. This volume—presenting Sarduy's central theoretical contribution, Barroco (1974), alongside other related works—remedies that oversight. In-person. Hosted by Espacio de Culturas at KJCC. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (ET)
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