Translators on the Art of Translating

Literary translators are why we can read poems, novels and essays written in languages we don’t speak, exposing us to otherwise inaccessible ideas and worlds. But even though translators wrestle page by page, paragraph by paragraph, line by line, to convey meaning,humor and pathos, their names don’t always appear on book covers. And translators say their industry is mired in problems of inequitable pay, a lack of diversity and an undervaluing of heritage speakers. We’ll talk with a panel of literary translators about the joys and challenges of their work. Tell us: Have you ever attempted to translate a literary text? What did you notice? What’s your favorite work in translation?

Guests:

Bruna Dantas Lobato, translates from Portuguese; advocate for translators not working into their first language; novelist and author of the forthcoming novel, "Blue Light Hours" - she has just been longlisted for the National Book Award;

Jennifer Croft, author, the forthcoming novel "The Extinction of Irena Rey"; translator for Polish Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk; advocate for translators

Soje, translates from Korean; poet; creator of Chogwa - which presents multiple translations of the same poem in each issue

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