English PEN Translation Day(s) 2022

Translation Day this year was a two-day event, in person on the 29th of September at the impressive Conway Hall on Red Lion Square and online on the 30th. This split is certainly a good idea, given the fact that some contributors and attendees cannot be present in person.

As an "officially" emerging translator into English (member of the Emerging Translators Network for more than a year now) I found it very encouraging that there is a real sense of community that stems from similar goals, similar backgrounds, similar experiences that form the basis of a fruitful dialogue. This was the atmosphere of the workshop with Ros Schwartz in which I took part on the 29th, but also of the four online events on the 30th where the general problem of decolonisation was a recurring topic. Writers/translators like Khairani Barokka, Polly Barton, Kavita Bhanot and Jess Johannesson (to drop just a few names) gave lucid insights into their work, be it more on the literary productive or the editorial and commercial side, and the difficulties they are facing dealing with stereotypes and other obstacles on their way creating and supporting genuine artistic visions and achievements. 

Speaking for me personally, the event(s) perfectly accompanied my ongoing reading of the Tilted Axis anthology (see post below), but most of all they gave me the opportunity to meet creators with similar backgrounds and support a community that ceaselessly feeds the cultural mainstream with perspectives that are essential for an understanding of the one multipolar and fundamentally diverse world we live in.

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