International Translation Day
Guess what? It's International Translation Day!
International Translation Day is celebrated every year but 2017 marks an historical milestone for all professional translators, interpreters and terminologists: the United Nations General Assembly recognised the role of professional translation in connecting nations, and fostering peace, understanding and development.
There's a host of events going on at the moment celebrating the art of translation and its protagonists! Kate Briggs came to the Institut français last week for a special talk about This Little Art at the Institut français with translator and translator extraordinaire Daniel Hahn. For those who couldn't attend, there is an audio recording here and a picture of two very stripy and enthusiastic translators below!
If you want to read more about translation, take a look too at Mireille Gansel's latest book Translation as Transhumance, translated into English by Ros Schwarz with a foreword by Lauren Elkin and published by Les Fugitives. This essay will be Book of the Week and while you wait for its publication, you can already unveil part of the mystery in an engaging interview by Book Witty here.
Once you have mastered theory, time to practice! A vibrant day-long programme has been organised by the British Library with Free Word and English Pen today: it features seminaries on various themes such as women writers in translation, multilingualism, the state of translation in higher education, and many more.
Talking about women writers in translation, Maclehose Press has launched a special series for #WITMonth with a post everyday on a woman writer, such as Virginie Despentes or Lydie Salvayre, among many other!
Not in London? Never mind! Time to discover the Institut français d'Edinbourgh and its spectacular translation machine! (You might have seen it at the Edinburgh International Book Festival). Just drop in and help translate a title in French unpublished in the UK... And explore their brand new premises!
If you come on the 9th of November you will be lucky enough to attend an exceptional reading of Great War French poems with translator Ian Higgins, with a talk on the historical and literary background.
And if you are a publisher with the noble mission of bringing more translated fiction to the UK, discover the Burgess Programme! Publishers may receive financial support for the translation of books from French into English, and their promotion at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni. Applications are now open for 2018 and 2019 publications, and the deadline is 4 December 2017.
