Upcoming Events:

The Center for Literary Translation invites you to attend the following events, all part of PEN World Voices, the Festival of International Literature, taking place between April 29 and May 4 in New York City.

Tuesday, April 29, 7:00 p.m.
CIRCUMFERENCE Celebrates Poetry in Translation

At the Housing Works Used Book Café, 126 Crosby Street

Join translators Brian Henry, Christina Svendsen, and Jeffrey Yang for a reading of poetry from around the globe in English and the original language. Brian Henry will read his tranlsations of Tomasz Salamun and Alex Steger from Slovenian, Christina Svendsen will heard hers of Kurt Schwitters from German and Jeffrey Yang will introduce us to the work of Su Shi and other Chinese poets.

Free and open to the public. No reservations.
For more information and sample poems, please visit www.circumferencemag.com

Wednesday, April 30, 1–2:30 p.m.
Five Years of the PEN Translation Fund: A Celebration

At the Martin E. Segal Theatre, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue

In 2003, an anonymous donor established the PEN Translation Fund to support the cause of literary translation into English. The story behind the bequest was extraordinary. The donor's father enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II and lost his life; the family invested his death benefit and never touched it. More than half a century later, that money had grown to over $700,000, all of which was donated to establish the Fund. In the five years since its inception, the Fund has supported more than 50 literary translation projects from dozens of languages. Many of these projects have been published to serious acclaim and won top honors in their fields. Today, grant recipients past and present (including Christopher Southward, Katherine Silver, Idra Novey, Jason Grunebaum, Alyson Waters, Sarah Khalili, and Wen Huang) read from their projects, and others involved with the Fund (including Eliot Weinberger, Edwin Frank, Esther Allen, and Barbara Epler) discuss its progress and its future.

Free and open to the public. No reservations.
Cosponsored by The Center for Literary Translation at Columbia University and the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Thursday May 1, 1–2 p.m.
Burma: A Land at the Crossroads
Conversation with Thant Myint-U and Ian Buruma
Moderated by Dedi Felman of Words Without Borders.

At the Instituto Cervantes New York , 211–215 East 49th Street

Thant Myint-U, a senior U.N. officer whose grandfather was U.N. secretary-general in the 1960s, is author of The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma, one of the most accessible, enthralling—and necessary—books on his myth-enshrouded homeland. Join him and author Ian Buruma—who wrote about Burma in his 1989 book, God's Dust: A Modern Asian Journey—for a discussion of Burma/Myanmar, a land at a crossroads. What are the possibilities for peaceful change in the aftermath of last year's bloody response to protests by Buddhist monks? Thant Myint-U and Ian Buruma bring unique perspective to this discussion of one of our world's last truly isolated and closed regimes, where the boundaries between private and public take on entirely different dimensions.

Free and open to the public. No reservations.
Presented by Words Without Borders
Cosponsored by Instituto Cervantes and Consulate General of Spain

Saturday, May 3, 2:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Olympic Voices: A Celebration of New Literature from China

At the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue
With Ma Jian, Xiaolu Guo and Dedi Felman

Dissident Chinese writer Ma Jian has written hauntingly and humorously about those struggling to survive under a system that dictates their every move. Enchanting and horrifying, seductive and perverse, moving and memorable, his stories of contemporary China and Tibet are noted for their artistry, their irreverence, and their courage. Xiaolu Guo's harrowing and intimate novels feature fluid prose and a fable-like lightness that only heightens the deep emotional depths. Her latest novel, written after she had moved to England, mixes language, love, and cultural identity to upend our assumptions about both China and the West. Join us for a conversation about flipping off the Old Guard, the new Chinese writing, belonging, escape, heartbreak, and craft.

$12/$10 for Asia Society members and students
Copresented by Words Without Borders and The Asia Society

Wednesday April 30th, 2008, 7p.m.
GREEK WORKS IN ENGLISH

to celebrate the movement of texts between cultures and languages and honor the faculty, fellows and students here at Columbia who make this happen

Peter Constantine (fellow, Hellenic Studies) will present a new translation by Karen Emmerich (graduate student, English and Comp. Literature) of a novel by Amanda Mihalopoulou -- I'D LIKE (Dalkey Archive, 2008). Translator and author will read from the work.

David Plante (professor, Writing Division, School of the Arts) will present and read from the posthumous collection of poetry by Nikos Stangos -- PURE REASON (Thames & Hudson, 2007)

Karen Van Dyck (professor, Modern Greek Literature) will present and read from her forthcoming collection of translations of poems by Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke -- THE SCATTERED PAPERS OF PENELOPE (Anvil, 2008 and Graywolf, 2009)

301 Philosophy Hall
All are welcome -- Please join us afterwards for mezedes and wine

WORDS WITHOUT BORDERS is looking for INTERNS!!! Please click for information

WORDS WITHOUT BORDERS (www.wordswithoutborders.org) is an online magazine for literature in translation that undertakes to promote international communication through publication of the world’s best writing. Its monthly publications include fiction, nonfiction, poetry and contextual essays, all available for free online.

HOUSING WORKS USED BOOK CAFE is a non-profit bookstore and cafe located in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. All proceeds from the sale of donated books, CDs and records go to support Housing Works, Inc., a non-profit service agency that provides housing, healthcare, job placement, advocacy, and more to homeless New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS.

Past CLT Events

2008

Wednesday, April 2nd: THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!!

Join us to celebrate the brand new
CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN POETRY: AN ANTHOLOGY
from Dalkey Archive Press with Russian poets:
Evgeny Bunimovich, Elena Fanailova, and Yuli Gugolev.

Timothy Donnelly and Josh Bell will read the English Translations.
Michael Scammell will moderate a Q&A.
Room 413 Dodge Hall, 6:30-8:00

Evgeny Bunimovich has written seven books of poetry and is a
prize-winning journalist. He lives in Moscow.

Elena Fanailova is author of four books of poetry. Her work in
translation is forthcoming from Ugly Duckling Presse.

Yuli Gugolev is a translator and author of two books of poetry. He
works for the International Commission of the Red Cross.

Thursday, March 27th, 2008 | Housing Works Bookstore Cafe | 7pm

Words Without Borders Presents:
An Evening with the Writers of Ledig House
Part 4 of the New Words Without Borders/Housing Works Series:
TALES FROM THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

featuring:
Mikhail Shishkin (Russia, Fiction)
Julien Holtrigter (The Netherlands, Poetry)
Buket Uzuner (Turkey, Fiction)
with special guest Gary Shteyngart (Russia and US, Fiction)

Mikhail Shishkin—Russian Booker Prize winner, national bestseller, and no less than a bona fide luminary of the Russian literary landscape—has said do svidanya (adios in Russian) to his home in Europe, for the time being, and set up shop in New York. Shishkin's move is rumored to have been precipitated by two factors: one, that there is a romantic interest (unconfirmed) and two, he is currently a resident at Ledig House, an international writers residency center (confirmed).

On March 27th at 7pm, Words Without Borders (www.wordswithoutborders.org) presents Russian émigré, New York literary phenomenon, and fellow Ledig House alumnus Gary Shteyngart with Mikhail Shishkin and other Ledig House fellows for a reading of their work. Appearing with Shteyngart and Shishkin will be two other internationally renowned poets and writers: Buket Uzuner (a Turkish bestseller who has been described as the next Orhan Pamuk) and Julien Holtrigter (an award winning Dutch poet and visual artist).

Ledig House has gained international recognition for bringing together topnotch writers from around the world, and at varying points in their careers—very often Ledig House fellows haven't yet made a name for themselves, but are on the verge. Edwidge Danticat, Aleksandar Hemon, Colum McCann, Nuruddin Farah and Padgett Powell are all Ledig House alums.

If you'd like more information, or to schedule an interview with event participants or the editors of Words without Borders, please e-mail Tom Burke at wwb.burke@gmail.com.

Wednesday, March 19, 7 - 8:30pm
TRANSLATED POETRY: A NEW LANDSCAPE

A panel discussion featuring:
 
Ammiel Alcalay, Professor of Classical, Middle Eastern, and Asian Languages and Cultures at Queens College and of English and Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center

Sinan Antoon, author most recently of I'jam: An Iraqi Rhapsody

Mónica de la Torre, co-editor of Reversible Monuments: Contemporary Mexican Poetry and senior editor at BOMB Magazine
 
Anna Moschovakis, editor and designer with Ugly Duckling Presse and author of I Have Not Been Able to Get Through to Everyone
 
Moderated by Stefania Heim, co-founder and co-editor of CIRCUMFERENCE: Poetry in Translation

Co-sponsored by CIRCUMFERENCE

The Skylight Room (9100)
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th and 35th)
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
 
No registration. Please arrive early for a seat. 212-817-2005 / ch@gc.cuny.edu

Wednesday March 5th, 7:00pm
THE GLOBAL GRAPHIC NOVEL: STRAIGHT OUT OF ANGOUELME
Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian, Presented by Words Without Borders and Housing WorksPhilippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian have collaborated for twenty years, with their most successful comic series, “Monsieur Jean,” selling over 120,000 copies in France. The anthology of their work, Get a Life, won an Angoulême Alph-Art Award, one of the most coveted awards in the comic genre. Their work has appeared in The New Yorker and in drawn & quarterly and Dark Horse Presents. Philippe Dupuy was born in Paris and Charles Berberian was born in Iraq. After having spent his childhood in Baghdad and later Beirut, Lebanon, Berberian settled as a teenager in Paris where both he and Dupuy continue to live and work.

2007
Tuesday, December 4, 7 pm; FREE
CIRCUMFERENCE, a journal of poetry in translation, celebrates the release of its sixth issue with readings by poets and translators from across the globe.

Poets Wang Jiaxin (China) and Moikom Zeqo (Albania) with his translator Wayne Miller, will read from their work. Also featuring French translator Mary Ann Caws.

Housing Works Used Book Café
126 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012
(212) 334-3324
editors@circumferencemag.com

November 13, 6:00 p.m: Natasha Wimmer, translator of Roberto Bolaño’s acclaimed The Savage Detectives and the forthcoming and even more massively ambitious novel 2666 talks to Esther Allen about translation, Bolaño, and her travels in Kazakhstan. In the Graduate Students Lounge (Room 301), Philosophy Hall, Columbia University.

October 25, 2007, 7:00 p.m: Ledig House International Writers Residence brings writers and translators from across the globe to Columbia University for an event hosted by Ledig House alum Dale Peck. In Dodge Hall, Room 413, Columbia University.

October 17, 7:00 p.m: WORDS WITHOUT BORDERS presents New Stories from the Portuguese: A celebration of the Lusophone World from Africa to Latin America to Europe, featuring Richard Zenith, David Brookshaw, Daniel Hahn and special guest, Gregory Rabassa. Co-sponsors: the Americas Society, Housing Works, and Poets & Writers. At Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, New York.

October 16, 2007, 2-4 p.m: Literature Between Languages: Poets Eleni Sikelianos and Irini Spanidou talk to Karen Van Dyck about their work and its relationship to Greek and English. Co-sponsored with the Program in Hellenic Studies at Columbia University. 707 Hamilton Hall, Columbia University.

October 11, 2007, 6:00 p.m: Peter Cole and Eliot Weinberger discuss The Dream of the Poem, Cole’s translations of the Hebrew poetry of medieval Muslim and Christian Spain, recently hailed by Harold Bloom as “a Hebrew poetry that, at the very best, could rival the magnificences of Scripture.” Cole’s work on the translation was supported by a grant from the PEN Translation Fund. Event co-sponsored by the Instituto Cervantes. At the Instituto Cervantes, 211-215 E. 49th Street, New York.

April 24-29: The Center for Literary Translation is proud to participate once again in PEN World Voices: The New York Festival of International Literature with a number of programs:

Wednesday April 25, 7pm:
A Reading in Celebration of CIRCUMFERENCE: Poetry in Translation
Poets Henrik Nordbrandt (Danish), Kirmen Uribe (Basque), Francesc Parcerisas (Catalan), and translators Elizabeth Macklin and Eliot Weinberger will read from their work.

Housing Works Used Book Café
126 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012
(212) 334-3324

Thursday, April 26: The Center for Literary Translation presents three consecutive programs in the President’s Room at Columbia University’s Faculty House (116th Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive). For a map showing how to enter Faculty House from 116th Street, click here.

2:30pm Make It New: Retranslating Great Literature
Co-sponsored by Dalkey Archive Press

New translations of works by Tolstoy, Cervantes, Proust and Virgil are increasingly apparent on publishers' lists and in the hands of subway riders. This conversation will address the question of what drives readers back to these works right now, and what drives translators to re-create them again and again. What are the unique challenges of retranslating a beloved classic?

Moderated by Michael Scammell. Participants to include Mark Polizzotti, Mary Ann Caws, Edith Grossman

4:30pm English: An Invasive Species?
Co-sponsored by the Institut Ramon Llull

To mark the launch of International PEN's report on Translation and Globalization, a group of writers with markedly different perspectives will discuss English and its role in literary globalization, and compare the English relationship to translation with the translation economies of several other languages or regions.

Moderated by David Damrosch. Participants will include Siri Hustvedt, Ma Jian and Francesc Parcerisas.

7:30pm Through the Eyes of Writers: Words Without Borders Invites Distinguished Writers to Introduce Their Favorite Unknowns

In celebration of the new Words Without Borders anthology The World Through the Eyes of Writers – in which well-known writers introduced dazzling literary talents virtually unknown to readers of English – a group of writers, both selectors and selectees, read from the anthology and talk more about significant talents that have yet to be discovered.

Hosted by Margo Jefferson. Participants to include Horacio Castellanos Moya, Ma Jian, Heidi Julavits, Dany Laferrière, Alain Mabanckou, and Marilynne Robinson.

Friday, April 27: Every Day in Africa: Words Without Borders
Americans' exposure to Africa is mostly through press coverage that is focused on current events, with a bias toward the sensational and tragic (AIDS, civil war, genocide). This discussion will offer a glimpse into the richness of the literary voices from Africa: we will
talk about their work, the literary traditions they draw on, their styles and literary choices, and their tremendously diverse accomplishments.

Time: 7pm – 8:30pm
Location: Instituto Cervantes, 211-215 E. 49th St.
Participants: Marguerite Abouet, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Uzodinma Iweala;
moderated Dedi Felman

February 8: “Creating a Meeting Place: Arabic Literature Into English.” The Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury discussed issues involved in translating Arabic literature into English with Peter Theroux, the renowned translator from the Arabic of works by many authors, including the Egyptian novelist, Naguib Mahfouz, and Jeffrey Sacks, translator of Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish. Moderated by Columbia Professor Noha Radwan.

March 6: A reading and discussion by two poets from Slovenia, Tomaž Šalamun and Aleš Debeljak, and their American poet-translators, Brian Henry and Andrew Zawacki, moderated by CLT's Academic Director, Michael Scammell, and poetry professor, Timothy Donnelly, of the Writing Division of Columbia’s School of the Arts.

2006
April 27: Three panel discussions were held at Faculty House, Columbia University, as part of PEN World Voices: the New York Festival of International Literature. The first, on "Exiles in America," moderated by CLT's Academic Director, Michael Scammell, brought together poets and novelists from China, Nigeria, and Syria. The second, on "The Politics of Translation," was moderated by Steve Wasserman, former editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and brought together writers from Italy, Russia and the United States (including Richard Howard, also from Columbia). The third, titled "Mixed Media: Writers and their Languages," was moderated by English professor, David Damrosch, and included writers working in Korean, French, Russian, Serbo-Croatian and English. Click here to download audio recordings of “Exiles in America” and “Mixed Media” from the PEN website.

September 12: The Kenyan exiled novelist, Ngugi wa Thiong-o, read from his new novel, Wizard of the Crow, written in Gikuyu and translated by the author into English, and took questions from the audience. The event was moderated by CLT's Executive Director, Esther Allen. Le Roy Neiman Gallery, Dodge Hall, Columbia University.

October 26: "Found in Translation," a dialogue on translation through the ages between CLT's Academic Director, Michael Scammell, and Daniel Weissbort, founder of the journal, Modern Poetry in Translation and co-editor of Translation: Theory and Practice, a Historical Reader, recently published by the Oxford University Press.

November 11: Literature from the Axis of Evil, an evening of readings from the new Words Without Borders anthology of the same name, featuring translated works from Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and "other enemy nations." CLT's Executive Director, Esther Allen, was one of the readers. Labyrinth Books, West 112th Street, NYC.

December 6: An evening of readings from a special issue of The Literary Review, featuring translations by the recipients of PEN Translation Fund grants for 2006. The noted poet, Robert Pinsky, who wrote the introduction to the issue, read from his work. 413 Dodge Hall, Columbia University.