Paraphrasis Podcast
Department of Comparative Literature at Harvard
Paraphrasis is a podcast dedicated to the art and practice of literary translation, brought to you by a team of graduate students in the Department of Comparative Literature at Harvard. www.paraphrasispodcast.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 21, 2024 • 4min
Bonus: Poorna Swami on idioms
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.paraphrasispodcast.com
May 7, 2024 • 17min
Poorna Swami on Murmurs by Safiya Akhtar
In this episode, Poorna Swami discusses her in-progress Urdu to English translation of Murmurs, a collection of love letters written by Safiya Akhtar. While looking for something to read in her grandmother’s study, Poorna found a scintillating glimpse into the tumultuous romance between the author and her poet husband. Anna and Poorna delve into the challenges of translating elaborate declarations of love into a different language and adapting intimate correspondence for performance and publication. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.paraphrasispodcast.com
Apr 16, 2024 • 3min
Bonus: Kareem Abdulrahman on character names
Kareem discusses the challenges of translating character names rife with meaning or derived from Kurdish encounters with other world cultures. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.paraphrasispodcast.com
Apr 2, 2024 • 19min
Kareem Abdulrahman on The Last Pomegranate Tree by Bachtyar Ali
In this episode, Anna talks to Kareem Abdulrahman about his translation of The Last Pomegranate Tree (Archipelago Books) by Bachtyar Ali. Based in Germany, Bachtyar has received the Nelly Sachs Prize (2017) and the Hilde-Domin-Prize (2023). Kareem’s translation was recently shortlisted for the 2023 National Books Critics Circle Award. Kareem tells us about producing the first-ever English translation of a Kurdish novel, finding the universal in Bachtyar’s prose, and his experience of the Kurdish comedy scene. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.paraphrasispodcast.com
Mar 19, 2024 • 4min
Bonus: Lara Norgaard on the “warung”
Lara takes us on a journey through Jakarta and Java, exploring the specificity of the Indonesian word “warung.” We learn about the place of the warung in the Indonesian urban ecosystem, its role in Lara’s translation of the novel 24 Hours with Gaspar by Sabda Armandio, and why translators choose to keep words for spaces and food in the original language. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.paraphrasispodcast.com
Mar 4, 2024 • 21min
Lara Norgaard on 24 Hours with Gaspar by Sabda Armandio
In our premiere, we meet Lara Norgaard to learn about her Indonesian to English translation of the genre-bending crime thriller, 24 Hours with Gaspar (Seagull Books). Lara recalls her first, fateful meeting with Sabda Armandio in a Jakarta coffee shop, as well as her process of conveying the humorous and horrifying word play and web of references that make this novel pop. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.paraphrasispodcast.com
