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

Tuesday, October 1:

Liberal Studies Translation Slam | This year’s Translation Slam spotlights translation from Urdu to English and will be moderated by Professors Jennifer Zoble (LS) and Annelise Finegan (SPS). Hosted by Liberal Studies (LS) in partnership with the Department of Comparative Literature and the School of Professional Studies (SPS) Master’s in Translation and Interpreting Program. Food and drinks will be provided. RSVP required. Hybrid (In-person and Virtual). Hosted by New York University. More info here. 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET)

Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize + Gutekunst Prize of the Friends of Goethe | Join us for our annual translation award doubleheader and help us celebrate both established and emerging translators from German into English. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by the Goethe-Institut New York. More info here. Starts at 6:30 p.m. (ET)

Thursday, October 3:

An Evening with Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu | Please join the Harriman Institute for an evening with Writer in Residence Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu (Dublin Literary Award 2024 for his novel Solenoid and Professor Emeritus at the University of Bucharest, member of the Romanian Writers’ Union, Romanian PEN and the European Cultural Parliament), in conversation with his translator Sean Cotter, and Harriman Director Valentina Izmirlieva. RSVP required (Register by 5:00 p.m. by October 2). In-person. Hosted by the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. More info here. 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Nasrallah featuring a conversation with Huda Fakhreddine | Please join us for the release of the new chapbook Palestinian (World Poetry, 2024) by acclaimed Palestinian novelist and poet Ibrahim Nasrallah. Written during an ongoing genocide in Gaza, the four new poems in Palestinian call out the world’s blindness towards Palestine, its tragedy, and the Nakba that has persisted since 1948. The reading will be followed by a conversation between Ibrahim Nasrallah and translator and scholar Huda Fakhreddine, moderated by Ammiel Alcalay. In-person. Hosted by World Poetry Books. More info here. Starts with a 7:30 p.m. (ET) reception followed by the event at 8:00 p.m. (ET)

Saturday, October 5:

World Poetry Books: Feminist Surrealists | Join us for a conversation between translators Kathleen Heil and C. Francis Fisher, moderated by translator and scholar Mark Polizzotti, celebrating their respective translations of the poetry of Méret Oppenheim and Joyce Mansour. Hybrid (In-person and Virtual). Hosted by 192 Books. More info here. 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (ET)

Tuesday, October 8:

Allison Markin Powell presents Gifted | Translator Allison Markin Powell presents Gifted by Suzumi Suzuki, a subtle and intimate account of a daughter’s final days with her mother, set amid the rush of Tokyo’s red-light district. In-person. Hosted by Community Bookstore. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)

No Ship Sets Out to Be a Shipwreck with Joan Wickersham, Adam Davies, and Kira Josefsson | Join us for a discussion with Joan Wickersham and Adam Davies to celebrate the release of Wickersham’s No Ship Sets Out to Be a Shipwreck, a poetic and philosophical meditation inspired by the Swedish warship Vasa, out now from Eastover Press. Davies will present his photography of the Vasa followed by readings from Wickersham from the new book. Last, they will discuss their work with the Vasa in a conversation moderated by writer, editor, and translator Kira Josefsson. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by Scandinavia House. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)

Wednesday, October 9:

FILNYC 2024: Conversación entre traductores y autores | El poeta y traductor literario Roque Raquel Salas Rivera leerá varios poemas de The Book of Conjurations (Sundial House 2024), su traducción al inglés del poemario de la poeta puertorriqueña Irizelma Robles. El traductor literario Lawrence Schimel y el poeta cubano Carlos Pintado leerán varios poemas y conversarán sobre sus recientes colaboraciones en torno a las ediciones bilingües de Music for Bamboo Strings (Sundial House 2024) y HaiCuba / HaiKuba (NorthSouth Books, 2004). In-person. Hosted by the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. More info here. 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. (ET)

FILNYC 2024: El arte de la traducción literaria | La traducción literaria es un género de escritura con virtualidad política. Diseminar el pensamiento latinoamericano, caribeño e ibérico en todas sus manifestaciones lingüísticas y regionales, constituye una estrategia de resistencia contra la xenofobia. Forjar comprensión conlleva empatía y subsanar el distanciamiento cultural e ideológico mediante la traducción literaria es un acto político indispensable y prometedor. Un elenco estelar de distinguides traductores literaries de diversos rincones del planeta abordará el género de la traducción literaria en este coloquio internacional. In-person. Hosted by the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. More info here. 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (ET)

La Piedra Angular: Julia Wong Kcomt and Transnational/Translational Poetry | Join transnational Asian American artists and writers Fabiana Chiu, River 瑩瑩 Dandelion, Nilton Maa, and Jennifer Shyue for an evening of multilingual poetry celebrating Julia Wong Kcomt’s legacy and the transnational/translational life she forged in the world and on the page. In March 2024, Asian American literature lost a vital voice when tusán (Chinese Peruvian) poet Julia Wong Kcomt passed away from cancer. Over a career spanning 30 years, Wong Kcomt plumbed themes in her work including the body, desert landscapes, diaspora, love, madness, mothering, plurilinguality, and racialized womanhood in her poetry, fiction, and hybrid nonfiction. RSVP required. Hybrid (In-person and Virtual). Hosted by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. More info here. Starts at 6:00 p.m. (ET)

FILNYC 2024: Presentación de novedades de otoño de Sundial House |  La galardonada traductora australiana Lilit Žekulin Thwaites leerá un fragmento de Crossing Waters (Sundial House 2024), su traducción de la novela Cruzar el agua de Luisa Etxenike y la formidable traductora literaria Christina MacSweeney leerá un fragmento de The Company (Sundial House 2024), su traducción al inglés de La compañía de Verónica Gerber Bicecci. Les cuatro panelistas luego conversarán con el brillante novelista Kirmen Uribe sobre los retos y la hermandad creativa que han marcado sus colaboraciones literarias. In-person. Hosted by the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (ET) 

A Conversation about Translation with Maureen Freely and Mandana Chaffa | Join Maureen Freely, translator of Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü, winner of the 2023 Barrios Book in Translation Prize, in conversation with Mandana Chaffa, Vice President of the Barrios Book in Translation Prize. RSVP required. Virtual. Hosted by National Book Critics Circle. More info here. Starts at 6:30 p.m. (ET)

A celebration for galaxiás by Haroldo de Campos With Odile Cisneros, Urayoán Noel, and Madhu Kaza | galaxiás translator Odile Cisneros will read from the book and be in conversation with translators Urayoán Noel and Madhu Kaza to celebrate the publication of Haroldo de Campos' 50 "galactic cantos" into English. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by Ugly Duckling Presse. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET) 

Thursday, October 10:

FILNYC 2024: El camino de la traducción | La autora argentina Mariana Enríquez y su editora al inglés Megan McDowell conversan acerca de la relación literaria que han mantenido por más de una década: ¿qué aspectos se han transformado o han permanecido en su experiencia de colaboración autora-traductora? ¿Qué dificultades y hallazgos han encontrado a lo largo del tiempo? La mesa se enfocará en la publicación más reciente de Mariana Enríquez, el libro de cuentos Un lugar soleado para gente sombría / A Sunny Place for Shady People (2024). In-person. Hosted at 245 Greenwich St. More info here. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (ET)

Feminist Surrealism: Joyce Mansour and Meret Oppenheim in Translation | “Feminist Surrealism: Joyce Mansour and Meret Oppenheim in Translation” will be a reading and conversation with the translators Kathleen Heil and C. Francis Fisher, moderated by Effie Rentzou (Princeton University). C. Francis Fisher will read from her recent translation of Joyce Mansour’s In the Glittering Maw: Selected Poems (World Poetry, 2024) and Kathleen Heil from her translation of Meret Oppenheim’s The Loveliest Vowel Empties (World Poetry, 2022). A moderated conversation will delve into the lives and work of these two important and often overlooked Surrealist poets and the many ways in which their lives and life work overlap and intersect. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by La Maison Française, World Poetry Books and Deutsches Haus at NYU. More info here. 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Crosswords: The Qur’an: A Verse Translation with M.A.R. Habib and Bruce B. Lawrence | Experience a new verse translation of the Qur’an that captures the exalted magnificence of the Arabic verses, expressing its original elegance in simple English. This is the first time the Qur’an has been translated by an Islamic scholar in collaboration with a poet familiar with the traditions and techniques of English verse. In-person. Hosted by Poets House. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (ET)

Wednesday, October 14:

Paul Celan and the Trans-Tibetan Angel translator Susan Bernofsky with Marie Myung-Ok Lee | Join us for a reading to celebrate Susan Bernofsky's recent translation of Yoko Tawada's Paul Celan and the Trans-Tibetan Angel. She will be in conversation with Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of Hurt You. Registration required. In-person. Hosted by Book Culture. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)

Tuesday, October 15:

NYU CIZM Presents: Translating Eugenio Montale | NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò presents 'Translating Eugenio Montale', a reading and panel discussion with contributors to the recent publications of Butterfly of Dinard (NYRB Classics) and Late Montale (NYRB Poets). Join Oonagh Stransky and Marla Moffa—translators of Butterfly—and Jonathan Galassi—author of the introduction to Butterfly and translator of several volumes of Montale's poetry—in celebration of the Nobel Prize winning author and these two new translations. RSVP Required. In-person. Hosted by NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò. More info here. 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET) 

Liliana Corobca and Monica Cure on Too Great a Sky | A reading and conversation with author Liliana Corobca and Oxford-Weidenfeld winning translator Monica Cure for their new book, Too Great A Sky. Cristina Vatulescu will join in conversation. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by Book Culture. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (ET)

Thursday, October 17:

Rizzoli at 60: Laurie Anderson and Jhumpa Lahiri | Rizzoli invites multidisciplinary artist Laurie Anderson and writer and translator Jhumpa Lahiri to join us for a freewheeling conversation about inspiration, collaboration, and how they make art, in celebration of our sixtieth anniversary. RSVP Required. In-person. Hosted by Rizzoli Bookstore. More info here. 6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (ET) 

New Works: Alexis Almeida, Alan Felsenthal, and Margaret Ross | Celebrate The Song Cave with Alexis Almeida, Alan Felsenthal, and Margaret Ross in conversation about their newest publications. Almeida will be reading her translation of Many Poems by the Argentinian author Roberta Iannamico. Felsenthal will be reading from his second collection Hereafter. Finally, Margaret Ross will share poems from her second collection Saturday. In-person. Hosted by Poets House. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. (ET)

Wednesday, October 23:

Colloquy on Retranslating the Canon with Mary Jo Bang, Yasmine Seale & Kimi Traube | The 14th installment of this series will feature retranslations of canonical texts, with readings and discussion from Mary Jo Bang, Yasmine Seale and Kimi Traube. Bang will read from her translations of Dante; Seale will read from her translation of One Thousand and One Nights; and Traube will read from her translation of Don Quixote, followed by a conversation moderated by Colloquy curator C. Francis Fisher. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by World Poetry Books and the Brooklyn Public Library. More info here. 7:00pm - 8:30pm (ET)

Life after Kafka: A conversation with Magdaléna Platzová | We invite you to a friendly literary discussion with writer Magdaléna Platzová, Germanist and Slavist Veronika Tuckerová and translator Alex Zucker. In-person. Hosted by Czech Center New York. More info here. Starts at 7:00 p.m. (ET)

Thursday, October 24:

An Evening with Fatma Aydemir & Jon Cho-Polizzi | A workshop with Jon Cho-Polizzi on translating Fatma Aydemir, followed by a reading and discussion with Fatma Aydemir, Jon Cho-Polizzi, Claudia Breger, and Susan Bernofsky. In the translation workshop, students are encouraged to explore the translation process, from theory to praxis, through engagement with short passages from Fatma Aydemir's multilingual epic Djinns. After that, the discussion will start. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by Deutsches Haus in Columbia University. More info here. 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)

Friday, October 25:

A night of Arab Literature & Jazz at Cafe Ornithology | Join us at Cafe Ornithology in Bushwick for a reading and conversation between Sinan Antoon (translator of Mahmoud Darwish’s In The Presence of Absence) and poet Hazem Fahmy. The two will speak about each of their poetics, translation, and the brilliant work of Mahmoud Darwish. The reading/conversation will take place from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m., after which there will be a jazz trio from 8:30 - 11:00 p.m. In-person. Hosted by Cafe Ornithology, in conjunction with Gotham Yardbird Sanctuary’s GYS Peace Talk Sessions. More info here. 7:00 - 11:00 p.m. (ET)

Us&Them: A Writer/Translator Reading Series Fall 2024 | Us&Them gives literary translators with parallel careers as writers a place to showcase both sides of their work. For Fall 2024, Helen O'Horan, Emma Schneider, Ian Ross Singleton, and Richard Prins will be reading. In-person. Hosted by Molasses Books. Starts at 8:00 p.m. (ET) 

Saturday, October 26:

Seeing Baya, Portrait of an Algerian Artist in Paris: Alice Kaplan and Harold Augenbraum | Join Alice Kaplan and Harold Augenbraum as they discuss Kaplan’s latest book, Seeing Baya: Portrait of an Algerian Artist in Paris (University of Chicago Press), the first biography of the Algerian artist Baya Mahieddine, celebrated in mid-twentieth-century Paris, her life shrouded in myth. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by Albertine Bookstore. More info here. 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (ET)

Tuesday, October 29:

Damion Searls: The Philosophy of Translation | Join us for a launch event with award‑winning translator Damion Searls, discussing his new book The Philosophy of Translation. RSVP required. In-person. Hosted by The Strand Book Store. More info here. 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)

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