NEXT UP

Translating Poetry: A Primer

SATURDAY MAY 17, 1-4 PM
MECHANICS’ INSTITUTE LIBRARY,
57 POST STREET, SAN FRANCISCO

University of Florida-Gainesville professor of poetry Sidney Wade will present a hands-on workshop in the art of literary translation, designed both for those who are new to the field and interested, as well as those more experienced with the undertaking. There will be an introduction to the most basic elements of the craft, as well as some of the more exasperating issues. Procedures, questions, and conflicts will all be discussed. This workshop will entertain the following sorts of questions: Who is best qualified to translate poetry? How does one start? Why choose one language over another? What is a literal trot? How does a literal trot get translated into a fine poem in English?

Sidney Wade is the guest poetry editor of TWO LINES: World Writing in Translation for 2008. She is currently a professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where she teaches poetry and translation workshops. She translates Turkish poetry and wrote Istanbul’dan/From Istanbul. She is a recent president of the Associated Writers and Writing Programs and the author of four other collections of poetry: Stroke, Celestial Bodies, Empty Sleeves, and Green.

Upcoming: ATA Certification Exam workshop, August 23rd.