Translation on Tap in NYC, April 1 – 30, 2018

Wishing everyone a happy April, a.k.a. Robert Walser’s birth month (4/15/1878). I’m delighted to announce that there are some lovely translation events coming up soon – check out the listings below! Some of them are part of the PEN World Voices Festival, which is running this year under the title “Resist and Reimagine.” This year’s festival presents a great-looking lineup that I recommend you check out, though I am troubled by the choice of speaker for the traditionally progressive Arthur Miller Freedom to Write lecture this year (and also the unprecedented $125 ticket price, which says a lot about the audience being catered to here). On the other hand, I’m glad to see Chelsea Manning on the program; I clearly remember unsuccessfully trying to get PEN to issue a statement of support for her half a dozen years ago – back when she was in prison awaiting trial, and this year’s Arthur Miller lecturer was running the State Department. Manning would have made a good Arthur Miller speaker.

So here’s what’s coming up:

Wednesday, April 4:

Touching the Distance: translators Rose-Myriam Réjouis and Val Vinokur will speak about their experiences translating together and separately with emphasis on their translations of Caribbean authors Patrick Chamoiseau and Marie Vieux Chauvet. More information here. Columbia University School of the Arts, 413 Dodge Hall, 7:00 p.m.

Monday, April 9:

The Hour Between Dog and Wolf: German novelist Silke Scheuermann in conversation with her translator, Lucy Jones, moderated by Susan Bernofsky. More information here. NYU Deutsches Haus, 42 Washington Mews, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 13:

Her Mother’s Mother’s Mother and Her Daughters: launch event featuring translator Eric M. B. Becker in conversation with the book’s author, Maria José Silveira. More information here. McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince St., 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 14:

Readings@Tompkins, featuring novelist and translator Idra Novey appearing together with Denise Kripper, who translated Novey’s novel Ways to Disappear (about a translator) into Spanish. They’ll be joined by Claudia Salazar Jiménez and Ana Rüschle in this bilingual reading. Tompkins Square Branch, New York Public Library, 331 E. 10th St., 3:00 p.m.

Monday, April 16

Launch event for Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas 95 (Gabriel Garcia Marquez: 50 Years of Cien annos de soledad, Fall 2017). Translators Edith Grossman and Alfred MacAdam will be on the line-up of speakers, joined by Deborah Cohn, Silvana Paternostro, and Jerry W. Carlson. RSVP requested. City College, 160 Convent Ave., in the Faculty Dining Rm., 3rd Fl., NAC Bldg., 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 17:

Playing with Fire: Theater in Translation as Resistance, featuring translators Michael Eskin, Agnes Walder, and Jeremy Tiang in conversation with Martin Puchner. PEN World Voices Festival event, more information here. Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St., 7:00 p.m.

Also Tuesday, April 17:

The Poetry of Ryszard Krynicki: translator Clare Cavanagh joins Krynicki, Edward Hirsch, and Alissa Valles for a reading and conversation. PEN World Voices Festival event, more information here. Poets House, 10 River Terrace, 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 18:

Beyond Borges: Argentina’s Unsung Greats, featuring translators Esther Allen, Heather Cleary, and Charlotte Whittle, joined by Sergio Chejfec and Edwin Frank, moderated by translator Eric M.B. Becker. PEN World Voices Festival event, more information here. Book Culture, 26-09 Jackson Ave., Long Island City, 7:00 p.m.

Thursday, April 19:

Resonances: Translator Rowan Ricardo Phillips joins fellow writers from around the world: Alicia Kopf, Xiaolu Guo, and Aminatta Forna for a reading and discussion including works that have influenced them,  moderated by Bridgett Davis. PEN World Voices Festival event, more information here. Newman Conference Center, Rm. 750, Baruch College, 151 E. 25th St., 6:00 p.m.

Also Thursday, April 19:

Being Dag Solstad: translator Lydia Davis joins Dag Solstad and John Freeman for a conversation about Solstad’s work. PEN World Voices Festival event, more information here. Shakespeare and Co., 939 Lexington Ave. (between 68th/69th St.), 6:30 p.m.

Also Thursday, April 19:

The Translation Slam is always a favorite event at the PEN World Voices Festival. This year’s slam, cohosted by Michael Moore and Jeremy Tiang, features translators Bonnie Huie and Amanda Lee Koe translating Macao poet Un Sio San, and translators Mara Faye Lethem and Mary Ann Newman translating Catalan poet Maria Cabrera Callís. This is a ticketed event, likely to sell out, so get your tickets soon. More information here. Nuyorican Poets Cafe, 236 3rd Ave., 7:00 p.m.

Friday, April 20:

Us&Them: A Writer-Translator Reading Series. The Spring 2018 installment of this reading series featuring writers who are also translators reading both their own and translated work will present Judith Wordsworth translating Abla Farhoud (Montreal); Jenny McPhee translating Curzio Malaparte (Italy); Sverrir Norland translating Sverrir Norland (Iceland); and Cristina Pérez Díaz translating Julia de Burgos (Puerto Rico). More information here. Molasses Books, 770 Hart St. (Dekalb L), Brooklyn, 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 21:

Translation and the Powers of Language: translator Mary Ann Newman moderates this conversation with Alicia Kopf, Judith Santopietro, Trifonia Melibea Obono, and Rubén Ríos-Avila about language and power relationships with particular attention to Spanish. PEN World Voices Festival event, more information here. Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St., 12:00 p.m.

Also Saturday, April 21:

The Trick of Translation: Translator Jhumpa Lahiri speaks with Domenico Sarnone about her most recent translation, of his novel Trick, moderated by Michael Reynolds. PEN World Voices Festival event, tickets required, more information here. Subculture, 45 Bleecker St., 5:00 p.m.

Also Saturday, April 21:

Pablo Neruda: The Poetry of Resistance: translators Forrest Gander and Idra Novey speak with Mark Eisner and Cecilia Vicuña. PEN World Voices Festival event, more information here. Poet’s House, 10 River Terrace, 7:00 p.m.

Also Saturday, April 21:

Legacy of an LGBTQ Countercultural Icon: translators Bonnie Huie and Ari Larissa Heinrich join Eileen Myles to discuss the work of Qiu Miaojin. PEN World Voices Festival event, tickets required, more information here. Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St., 7:30 p.m.

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