In this round of weekly updates from our Editors-at-Large, we hear about literary festivals, awards, and the latest translations from North Macedonia, Spain, and Kenya! From a festival themed “Air. Wind. Breathing.” to a recently completed translation of the Bible, read on to learn more!
Sofija Popovska, Editor-at-Large, reporting from North Macedonia
The first weeks of autumn in North Macedonia brought exciting developments to the literary scene: the third installment of the Skopje Poetry Festival took place from September 24–28. The event spanned several venues, including the historic movie theater “Frosina”, the Skopje city library, and the bookshop-cafe “Bukva”. The festival opened with a performance entitled “Air. Wind. Breathing.”—a theme that was maintained throughout, as some of the readings were accompanied by musical improvisations with wind instruments.
Represented at the Skopje Poetry Festival was a diverse range of cultures; Danish, Serbian, French-Syrian, Maltese, and Croatian poets gave readings alongside local authors. Aside from readings, there were screenings of several movies based on the poetry of Aco Šopov. One of the adapted poems was Horrordeath, which was featured in the Winter 2023 issue of Asymptote Journal in Rawley Grau and Christina E. Kramer’s translation. The screenings were followed by a musical concert, a creative writing workshop headed by Immanuel Mifsud (a Maltese author and recipient of the European Union Prize for Literature), a panel discussion on increasing the visibility of Macedonian literature abroad, and a yoga session in nature. Young Macedonian poets also had a chance to make their voices heard, during the “Springboard” event on September 24 dedicated to poets between the ages of 16 and 25.
Aside from being a key source of cultural enrichment, events like the Skopje Poetry Festival are of utmost importance to the morale of artists and art enjoyers at this time. Following the pandemic, the Macedonian public has been subject to skyrocketing prices and plummeting salaries, which has threatened to plunge their everyday lives into a desperate rush for survival. Such moments can be existentially dangerous to those whose lives revolve around the arts, as they are often the first to bear the brunt of funding cuts. However, the willingness of several Macedonian institutions, alongside the Croatian Writers’ Association and TRADUKI, a foundation that promotes exchange between the German-language and Southeast European literary scenes, to sponsor such an extensive event provides reassurance that the future of Macedonian literature has only just begun.
Marina García Pardavila, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Spain
September has been full of literary prizes. Amongst the most acclaimed ones, the National Prize for Literature (Premio Nacional de Literatura) stands out due to its relevance. It not only recognizes the work and potential of the awarded writers, but also serves as a meeting point for all the languages in which literature is being published in Spain. That is to say, this prize broadens the Spanish canon as it showcases the richness of cultural and linguistic diversity at stake in the current panorama. It enables a profuse conversation on the contributions from Basque, Catalan, and Galician literature within the Spanish literary landscape.
Galician playwright Paula Carballeira has been awarded the National Prize for Literature in the Drama category. Her work As alumnas (The Students) recovers the figure of María Barbeito, a teacher who advocated for the introduction of the Montessori method during the Civil War period. Her play, on top of being an ovation to the school system established by the Republican government, also discusses the vital role of education in present times.
Following her recent National Critic’s Prize (Premio de la Crítica), Galician poet and cultural agitator Yolanda Castaño has won the National Prize in the Poetry category for her audacious book Materia (Matter). “This award was the second most difficult endeavor in my life. The first one is my poetry career”, Castaño recently stated. In this regard, her latest title enlarges the discussion on motherhood, making space for those who choose not to become mothers, as well as reformulating the idea of family.
In the Young Adult and Children’s Literature category, Basque writer Patxi Zubizarreta has won the award with Zerria, an endearing story which stirs up the deepest part of our human nature. Zubizarreta refuses to see children’s literature as a field for naivety, thus elaborating a complex and defiant discourse in this book.
Wambua Muindi, Editor-at-Large, reporting from Mombasa, Kenya
On October 1, the second issue of the Jalada Translation Series was launched. It featured a translation of the poem “Mandela Comes To Leah” by the 1986 Literature Nobel Laureate—Africa’s first—Wole Soyinka. “Mandela Comes to Leah” has been translated into 47 languages, seven of which are African and Kenyan languages. These include Sheng, Dholuo, Marakwet, Embu, Kiswahili, Gikuyu and Ekegusii, translated by Mwangi wa Mahugu, Omusula W. Omuholo, Paul Kipchumba, Jane Nyaga, Hassan Kassim Hasan, Njeri Wangari, and Jane Obuchi respectively. This shows the extent to which translation is the language of languages, as written in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s latest book Language of Languages (2023), and even more the commitment of the translator to bringing translations to life in African languages.
Meanwhile, hot on the heels of World Translation Day, Pokomo Language Bible was launched on October 4. The Pokomo community of Tana River received copies of the Bible translated into their own dialect, translated by the Bible Translation and Literacy organization, a project that took 38 years and was commemorated by political leadership. An undoubtedly widely read piece of literature, the scriptures come in handy in a region where not far from the community a ‘divine disaster’ happened in the Shakahola massacre. The idea of the translation is to enable access to Christian knowledge through the word of God that proves difficult in foreign tongues.
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