Upcoming Translation Events January 2021

Tuesday, January 5: 

NYRB Poets: Patrick Wright and Damion Searls in conversation with Edwin Frank. Scholar Wright and translator Searls join NYRB Poets editor Frank to discuss the work of Uwe Johnson, presenting Wright’s The Sea View Has Me Again: Uwe Johnson and Sheerness, and Searls’ translation of Johnson’s Anniversaries.  On Zoom, in association with Community Bookstore in Brooklyn. More information here. 7:30 pm (EDT)

Thursday, January 7: 

Virtual book Talk: Mia Kankimäki.  Finnish author Kankimäki discusses her latest novel The Women I Think About At Night: Travelling the Paths of my Heroes. In conversation with Heli Sirviö, Lecturer of Finnish Language and Culture at Columbia University. Hosted by Scandinavia House.  More information here. 1:00 pm (EDT)

Wednesday, January 13: 

Susan Pickford Reads from Bérengère Viennot's Trumpspeak: Jill!'s 2021 season starts off with translator Susan Pickford's reading from author and fellow translator Bérengère Viennot's Trumpspeak. Per Susan: "Bérengère is a French translator who found herself translating Trump's speeches into French, and her book is a witty exploration of both the translation process itself and of Trump's use of language." Trumpspeak is available via Contra Mundum PressJoin. Watch Susan’s reading here.

Friday, January 15: 

What Translation Sparks: Join the conversation between the wonderful poet-translators Chris Beckett, Monica de la Torre, Alana Marie Levinson-LaBarosse, and Donna Stonecipher, as they discuss translating languages as diverse as Amharic, Portuguese, Kurdish and German. More information here. 4:00 pm (EDT)

Wednesday, January 20:

Triple Translation and Decolonization: This course at the University of Chicago is the first installment in a series titled Exploratory Translation on the theory and practice of translation. The event will feature Rosa Alcalá, Walther Maradiegue and Edwin Lucero Rinza, and will be moderated by Edgar Garcia. More information here. 6:00 pm (CT) / 7:00 pm (ET)

Thursday, January 21: 

How do we practice translation?: To launch the new series, Thierry Kehou, Writing Programs Manager at The Center for Fiction, will be joined by Allison Markin Powell, Cedilla member and the 2020 recipient of the PEN America Translation Prize. They will discuss how the translation clinics came together, the intersections between fiction, creative writing, and literary translation, and how to get started as a literary translator. More information here. 7:00 pm (EDT)

Saturday, January 23: 

Imagining Identity Across the Pond: The Asian American Writers’ Workshop and London-based writer April Yee present a reading and discussion with two of the UK’s leading poets: Will Harris (RENDANG) and Romalyn Ante (Antiemetic for Homesickness). More information here. 12:00 pm (EDT)

Sunday, January 24: 

Translation & Advocacy: Join translators Julia Sanches and Umair Kazi (‘16), for a conversation about the nuts and bolts of translation work—from how to get into translation, to what you should look for in a contract. This program is organized by Seven Stories Institute/Word Up Community Bookshop and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. More information here. 3:00 pm (EDT)

Tuesday, January 26: 

Virtual Panel — The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevsen: In this event, translator Michael Favala Goldman and authors Morten Høi Jensen (A Difficult Death), Rachel Kushner (The Mars Room), and Ben Lerner (The Topeka School) will discuss this courageous and honest trilogy from literary icon Tove Ditlevsen, a pioneer in the field of genre-bending confessional writing, explores themes of family, sex, motherhood, abortion, addiction, and being an artist.Imagining Identity. More information here. 7:00 pm (EDT)