The Cheuse Center for International Writers at George Mason University and Poetry Daily are pleased to announce What Translation Sparks. This series of essays and virtual events will feature seventeen renowned poet-translators writing in English and translating from a wide variety of languages
In What Translation Sparks, poet-translators will share a seminal experience in translation. How does the work of translating poetry feel essential to the writing of one's own poetry? Our contributors reflect on inspiring moments as intricate as a grammatical quirk and as wide-ranging the history or politics of another place. Each Monday, beginning October 26, Poetry Daily (www.poems.com) will publish a poem in the original language, the translation, and a mini-essay by the translator on how the work of translating the poem, in particular, felt essential to their own poetics and/or writing practice.
At the end of each month, the Cheuse Center and Poetry Daily will host a conversation with that month's contributors, in which they discuss their essays for the series and explore the wider issues related to translation and poetry. Events will take place on Friday evenings at 8:00 pm EST through Zoom.
Our first event will be Friday, November 20th, featuring: Dan Beachy-Quick, Kazim Ali, Forrest Gander, and Jennifer Grotz.
The events are free and open to the public, and you can register for them through Eventbrite and will be:
Friday, November 20
Friday, December 18
Friday, January 15
Friday, February 19