The Arab world has a rich literary heritage and a vibrant contemporary literary scene which has attracted many English speaking readers – Arabic is one of the top-ten most translated languages for American audiences. But the process of translation is complex and often politically fraught. In this podcast, Reem Bassiouney, sociolinguistics professor and award-winning author of Sons of the People: The Mamluk Trilogy, and M Lynx Qualey, editor of ArabLit.org, join New Lines Magazine's Lydia Wilson and Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the many challenges of translating Arabic literature.They talk about why a translation is never finished, the power that translators have as a bridge between cultures, and what it means to be a ‘victim’ of translation.
The Lede