Against cultural reductionism. An anthology about decolonising translation
On Monday, the 5th of this month, I went to an event at Foyles, the launch of the anthology Violent Phenomena. 21 Essays on Translation published by Tilted Axis. Kavita Bhanot (co-editor), Nariman Youssef and Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (two of the contributors) were interviewed by Catherine Taylor and read excerpts of their contributions. The event was part of the new OK Translator series at Foyles that takes place every first Monday of the month. It was an inspiring talk that made me think a bit more about my experiences as a translator from the (New) Greek and the problems of the marginalization of vital, rich literary and cultural traditions as far as they don't fit in the schemes of a literary market dominated by the current lingua franca and the approach of its representants that is characterized by domestication, simplification and all too often systematic hegemonial degradation. These are not only problems of the realms of cultural production. They signify a wider historical