Books / Translated By, Bristol
Final preparations underway for ‘Translated By, Bristol’ – the city’s first festival of translated literature
The lineup is now complete and final preparations are underway for the inaugural festival of translated literature, Translated By, Bristol – thought to be the first event of its kind.
Created collaboratively by local independent bookshops Gloucester Road Books and Storysmith along with acclaimed author and Japanese translator Polly Barton, the programme has been a year in the making.
At its heart, is the mission to “celebrate the art and practice of literary translation, foregrounding the translators themselves”.
Charles Recoursé (French translator), Max Porter and Saskia van der Lingen (Dutch translator)
There are now 11 separate events confirmed across the two-week-long festival, most of which will be taking place at the bookshops themselves, alongside two at The Station and one at The Wardrobe Theatre.
Newly announced is Translating the Porterverse on May 14, in which multi-award-winning author Max Porter (Lanny, Shy, Grief is the Thing with Feathers) will be in conversation with two of his translators, Charles Recoursé (French) and Saskia van der Lingen (Dutch).
Ruth Ahmedzai-Kemp
For young readers and their families on the first weekend of the festival, Ruth Ahmedzai-Kemp will be leading the free, interactive event Read The World… and be a translator for the day! Participants will be able to find out more about how books travel the globe, and translate an Arabic picture book.
On May 20 at Storysmith, Danish author Kristine Reffstrup will be talking to Hunter Simpson, the translator of her remarkable second novel Iron Lung. Following two children 40 years apart yet strangely and powerfully connected, the book earned a nomination for the esteemed Politiken Literature Prize.
Kirstine Reffstrup and Hunter Simpson
The closing weekend will feature a pair of award-winning translators of Latin American fiction, namely Frank Wynne (The National Telepathy, The Tribe) and Annie McDermott (Not a River, The Thinking-About-Gladys Machine, Feebleminded, Woodworm), in conversation with Rebecca Kosick.
And to round off the first Translated By, Bristol in style, a Translation Duel has been announced – with Wynne appearing once more, joined by Adriana Hunter; the pair of literary ‘duellists’ will be translating the same French text, in real time – moderated by Ros Schwartz.
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Translated By, Bristol will run from May 12-25, with tickets available now at www.translatedbybristol.com. Sign up to the newsletter or follow @translatedbybristol for updates.
All photos: Translated By, Bristol (main photo: Annie McDermott and Frank Wynne)
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