“Translating Worlds, Exploring Words: A Workshop on Literary Translation” with Joanna Chen
“A translation can serve as a lens into the underground life of another culture”– Cynthia Ozick
Literary translation involves a deep reading of words; it is the natural companion of both reading and writing. The art and practice of literary translation enriches and informs our own writing. It provides a unique perspective on words we thought we knew, holding each one up to the light, examining it and deepening its presence.
In this generative workshop we will examine and explore translated poetry from Yiddish, Hebrew and other languages, opening doors to other worlds, both past and present.
Together we will discuss what translation means to us and how to approach it. We will experiment with our own translations of poetry, letting our love for language guide us. No prior experience necessary, all welcome.
Handouts will be sent with the texts to be discussed.
Each student will receive a written critique at the end of the workshop.
- Two Sundays: 2/23, 3/2, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm EST.
- If you’re not able to attend a class, all classes will be recorded and available for later viewing
- Handouts will be sent with the texts to be discussed
$162—standard registration
$133—18% discounted registration for Yetzirah Members (you can become a member here)
*As we want our offerings to be accessible to all, there is a pay-what-you-can option if this pricing is a hardship.
Joanna Chen’s full-length poetry translations include Less Like a Dove (Shearsman Books), Frayed Light (Wesleyan University Press, finalist for The Jewish Book Award),and but first I call your name (Shearsman Books). She is also the translator of My Wild Garden (Penguin/Random House) and Shooting in America (forthcoming with Penguin, winner of The Paper Brigade Award for New Israeli Fiction). Her work has been published in Asymptote, Waxwing, Mantis and La Piccioletta Barca, among numerous others. Her poetry, essays and interviews have been published in The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Washington Monthly, Lilith and Narratively, among several others. She teaches literary translation at The Helicon School of Poetry in Tel Aviv.