This International Translation Day, come join the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) for a lively, interactive event, where translators and non-translators alike get a peek inside the translation process—and the fact that different translations can be equally valid.
Two translators, Didem Uca and Jon Cho-Polizzi, will arrive having independently completed an English translation of the same German poem by Keça Filankes. They’ll read their translations, and then describe their choices, as well as cultural and linguistic aspects of the original poem. Which parts of each version will you prefer? Are there other possible translations that you might suggest? During the reading and conversation moderated by David Gramling, you’ll be invited to offer your own suggestions in the chat, and the event will conclude with a live Q&A.
Thursday, September 30 ⧫ 10-11am Pacific Time
This free, virtual event kicks off the 44th annual ALTA conference, ALTA44: Inflection Points. To watch and take part in the Translation Slam, register at InEvent, our online conference platform, where you can select a “Free – Special Event Access” ticket to watch this event for free. Or, join us for the entire conference, which is taking place online on October 15-17 and in-person in Tucson, Arizona on November 11-13, by purchasing a paid ticket.
This event is a collaboration between ALTA and SAND journal and is sponsored by Wunderbar Together. It is part of the Arizona Translates! series and is affiliated with the Tucson Humanities Festival at the University of Arizona.