Translation, Languages, and Storytelling with Jenna Tang

Registration for this workshop has closed.

Literature in translation is about putting ourselves in different cultural perspectives and giving voice to works that travel across languages. How do we find our voice in our translation projects? How do we let our intentionality be seen from one language to another? What are the questions we could ask ourselves as translators during our practice? Why do we even translate?

Over the course of this workshop, we’ll be reading essays about translations and languages, works in translation from different cultures and themes, and interviews with emerging and established translators. We’ll also workshop translation projects from students and provide feedback for each other. Each week, we’ll discuss different themes of literature as well as highlight central questions about how we could better bring specific translation questions into our focus.

This workshop is meant to build a safe space for us to share our translation projects in progress, generate new works, and share our experiences and vulnerabilities. We’ll read, discuss, and build a community where we evolve and grow together.

Course Outline

• Week 1: Introduction: Languages and Translation
• Week 2: The Strange and the Surreal/ How does intentionality play into our translations?
• Week 3: Gender and Queering Translation/ Translating Sex, Gender, and Identities
• Week 4: Marginalized Literature in Translation / Translating Dialects & Underrepresented Languages
• Week 5: Translations and Stream of Consciousness/ Translating Emotions and Dialogues
• Week 6: Pitching Translations: A Conversation with Publishers, Editors, and Literary Communities