Translation: What It Is and How To Get Started

This seminar is for the “translation curious” — readers and writers interested in translating literature or bringing a particular piece of writing into English. Designed for all language fluencies and experience levels, the session will introduce translation as a creative act while debunking myths about what literary translation takes and “who’s allowed” to get started. “Lost in translation” may be a familiar phrase, but we will focus on what is found through this daring process: perspective, reading and writing skills, inspiration, and a deeper, more intimate relationship with language alongside new versions of the texts at hand. Beginning with a discussion of the ways in which students already are translators, we will explore word choice, tone, and code-switching in ways that apply broadly to creative writing. English-English exercises will give students practical experience along with tools to help identify and speak to the heart of cross-language projects. Students will leave with a sense of the many ways translation projects can take shape, both as part of larger creative works and as writing projects in their own right.