The Cheuse Center
presents
Translating America: Language, Witness, Interrogation, & Idealism
The tenth anniversary of the Cheuse Center is ongoing and we are excited to bring you our Fall programs. The anniversary year coincides with the 250th Anniversary of America’s independence. To mark this landmark year, the Cheuse Center has developed a program on seeing America from the outside in and the inside out.
Drawing together voices from around the world, we have curated a series of events on September 29th around the theme of Translating America {symbolically} in the footsteps of de Tocqueville. Sometimes dated but always relevant, de Tocqueville’s ‘Democracy in America’ is one way of seeing America through one man’s eyes, written in French. But what about other voices, what about other languages, what about other ways of seeing?
A group reading featuring a bouquet of writers and translators, Busboys and Poets, 14th and V St. NW, Langston Room. Books for sale. Doors open at 5:30 with full dinner service.
September 29, 2026 Program
Venue: Art & Design Building, Gillespie Gallery, First Floor, Art and Design Bldg, Fairfax
Exhibition: As you were: the art of American veterans and caregivers from the last 25 years of service.
Curated by CAP (Ret.) Moira McGuire, former director of healing arts at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. This exhibition features seventeen veteran artists, including a Gold Star spouse and a caregiver, honoring their service through powerful works that reflect sacrifice, resilience, and the ongoing journey after Iraq and Afghanistan.
10:30 am: Another Country: Veteran Artists and Writers in Conversation
A conversation between veterans of the last 25 years, on negotiating the countries of the self, the artist, America and the world. James Baldwin talks about how each of us is our own country in his novel, Another Country. Developing that idea, we bring veteran artists and writers together to discuss their art, the language of their inner countries, and their service as Americans in another country. Featuring veterans Kat Reyes Colvert, Steven Luu, Ben Inks, and moderated by CAP (Ret.) Moira McGuire. The exhibition, ‘As you were’, features art by Steven Luu and CAP Moira McGuire; they will be in conversation with former servicemembers Kat Reyes Colvert and Ben Inks who graduated with MFAs from George Mason.
12:00 noon: Translating America from the outside in and the inside out, {symbolically} in the footsteps of de Tocqueville.
A conversation between Carolyn Forché, Fernando Vaverde, and Cheuse Spanish writer in residence Marina Pérezagua. Moderated by New York Times bestselling author Eric Weiner.
1:30 pm: Kitchen Table Translations Revisited
A beginner’s conversation on translation by Madhu Kaza
3:00 pm: Gestures & Journey(s): History Rushes In
Featuring Nancy Naomi Carlson, Sylvie Kande, and Saaret E. Yoseph. Moderated by Heather Green.
4:30 pm: Jeyamohan in Conversation with Leeya Mehta
Presenting B. Jeyamohan’s ‘White Elephant’ and writing about America from afar. One of the greatest living writers today, B Jeyamohan, will be in conversation with Cheuse Director Leeya Mehta. They will discuss Jeyamohan’s philosophy, idealism and the writer in the world. Jeyamohan’s newest book in translation White Elephant (FSG) touches on the geopolitics of famine, colonialism and the ice trade from America to India in the 1800s.This discussion will focus on Jeyamohan’s fiction and his philosophy and idealism –how a literary movement can deepen community and ways of seeing.
Food and refreshment schedule:
9:30 am-11:00 am: Pastries and coffee
12-2pm- Lunch
2:30-4:30- Cookies and coffee
5:30-7:30pm- Reception with music by Roman Kostovski