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4 episodes with english pen
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2 episodes with english pen
2 episodes with english pen
4 episodes with english pen
2 episodes with english pen
2 episodes with english pen
2 episodes with english pen
5 episodes with english pen
"In this episode, we have Ros Schwartz discussing TILT—the Telugu to English Online Translation workshop that she is conducting. It aims to develop Telugu-to-English literary translators. Telugu publishers Chaaya and Aju from Hyderabad, India, have collaborated on this unique initiative.Ros discussed the workshop's modalities, the guest speakers who have graced the sessions, and the future paths for the mentees who have attended.Ros Schwartz is an award-winning translator from French. Over the past four decades, she has translated over 100 fiction and non-fiction titles. Alongside literary translation, Ros has served on the boards and committees of key literary and translation organisations including the UK Translators Association; the European Council of Literary Translators Associations (CEATL) the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) and English PEN's Writers in TranslationProgramme. Currently co-director of Bristol Translates literary translation summer school, she works to develop literary translation as a profession by supporting young translators, initiatingmentoring schemes and summer schools, and giving workshops, and master classes at theUniversities of Durham, Middlesex, Westminster, East Anglia, Leicester, Glasgow, City University, the University of Warwick among others, including the Seagull Publishing School in Kolkata. Shehas given talks around the world, notably at the Jaipur Literature Festival.https://www.bristol.ac.uk/sml/translation-interpreting-studies/bristol-translates/* For your Valuable feedback on this Episode - Please click the link below.https://tinyurl.com/4zbdhrwrHarshaneeyam on Spotify App –https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onspotHarshaneeyam on Apple App – https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onapple*Contact us - harshaneeyam@gmail.com ***Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Interviewees in interviews conducted by Harshaneeyam Podcast are those of the Interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Harshaneeyam Podcast. Any content provided by Interviewees is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Amber Massie-Blomfield, author of Acts of Resistance: The Power of Art to Create a Better World. This conversation, recorded in store, dives into the profound role art plays in times of crisis. Amber shares stories of artists who defied oppressive regimes, like Claude Cahun's surrealist resistance in Nazi-occupied Jersey and Susan Sontag's production of Waiting for Godot during the siege of Sarajevo. We explore how art inspires activism, questions societal norms, and fosters collective resilience. From daring theatrical productions to sunflower-lined streets, Amber reveals art's transformative potential to unite and inspire. Whether you're an artist, activist, or curious thinker, this episode challenges the notion that art is “just” entertainment and posits it as a force for meaningful change.Buy Acts of Resistance: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/acts-of-resistance*Amber Massie-Blomfield's first book, Twenty Theatres to See Before You Die, was published by Penned in the Margins in May 2018, and received the Society of Authors' Michael Meyer Award. Formerly executive director of internationally renowned theatre company Complicité, she has also worked as an arts producer with companies including Camden People's Theatre, Barbican, Actors Touring Company, tiata fahodzi, and English PEN. She lives in Brixton. Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. His latest novel, Beasts of England, a to Animal Farm, is available now. Buy a signed copy here: https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/books/beasts-of-englandListen to Alex Freiman's latest EP, In The Beginning: https://open.spotify.com/album/5iZYPMCUnG7xiCtsFCBlVa?si=h5x3FK1URq6SwH9Kb_SO3w Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A new 'Craftwork' episode about the art of literary translation. My guests are Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary, co-translators of Reservoir Bitches, the debut story collection by Dahlia de la Cerda, available now from the Feminist Press. Reservoir Bitches is the official September pick of the Otherppl Book Club. Dahlia de la Cerda is a writer and activist based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. She is the author of Perras de Reserva, which won the 2019 Premio Nacional de Cuento Joven Comala, and Desde los Zulos. She is also the cofounder of the feminist organization Morras Help Morras. Reservoir Bitches is her English-language debut. Julia Sanches translates literature from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan into English. Born in Brazil, she now lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Heather Cleary is an award-winning translator of poetry and prose whose work has been recognized by English PEN, the National Book Foundation, and the Mellon Foundation, among others. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence College and is the author of The Translator's Visibility: Scenes from Contemporary Latin American Fiction. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our Guest for today, Hanna Komar, is an accomplished Belarusian poet and writer who has translated her work into English.She holds an MA in Creative Writing: Writing the City from the University of Westminster and is pursuing a PhD at the University of Brighton. Her research focuses on how poetry can empower Belarusian women to share their experiences of gender-based violence and patriarchy. Hanna's poetic work is a powerful testament to the experiences of girls and young women in a patriarchal authoritarian country. Her published works, including the collections “Страх вышыні” [Fear of Heights], “Мы вернемся” [We'll Return], and “Вызвалі або бяжы” [Set Me Free or Run], as well as the bilingual collections Recycled and Ribwort and the non-fiction book "Калі я выйду на волю" [When I'm Out of Here], resonate with readers, offering a voice to those who have been silenced.Her work has been translated into Polish, Ukrainian, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Czech, Lithuanian, Slovenian, Danish and Russian. A member of PEN Belarus and an honorary member of English PEN, she is the Freedom of Speech 2020 Prize laureate from the Norwegian Authors' Union.For more on Hanna Komer - https://www.hannakomar.com/enTo know more about other Important Belarusian Writers and Poets - https://shorturl.at/etkyp* For your Valuable feedback on this Episode - Please click the link below.https://tinyurl.com/4zbdhrwrHarshaneeyam on Spotify App –https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onspotHarshaneeyam on Apple App – https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onapple*Contact us - harshaneeyam@gmail.com ***Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Interviewees in interviews conducted by Harshaneeyam Podcast are those of the Interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Harshaneeyam Podcast. Any content provided by Interviewees is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpChartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
Author, essayist, poet and activist Ani Gjika is an Albanian-born poet, literary translator, writer, and author of Bread on Running Waters (Fenway Press, 2013). A finalist for the 2011 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize and 2011 May Sarton New Hampshire Book Prize, she moved to the US at age 18 and earned an MA in English at Simmons College and an MFA in poetry at Boston University. Her honors include awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, English PEN, the Robert Pinsky Global Fellowship, Framingham State University's Miriam Levine Reader Award, and the Robert Fitzgerald Translation Prize. Her poetry appears in Seneca Review, Salamander, Plume, From the Fishouse, and elsewhere. Her new book is An Unruled Body: A Poet's Memoir, just out from Restless Books, which is the winner of the 2021 Restless Books' New Immigrant Writing Prize. Listen in and she and host Marion Roach Smith discuss writing into trauma in this new episode of the Qwerty podcast. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.
Izidora Angel, in this conversation, spoke about her experience of Emigration to America, the initiative that she is involved in, 'Third Coast Translators Collective' and the legendary Bulgarian writer - Hristo Karastoyanov.Izidora Angel is a Bulgarian-born writer and literary translator in Chicago. She is the author of three book-length translations. Her work on Yordanka Beleva's collection, Keder, received a 2023 NEA translation fellowship; her work on She Who Remains by Rene Karabash was awarded the 2023 Gulf Coast Translation Prize. Izidora's essays, interviews, and translations have been featured in Astra Magazine, Words Without Borders, Electric Literature, Firmament, Two Lines Journal, Chicago Reader, and elsewhere, and her translation of the short story Family Portrait of the Black Earth by Yordanka Beleva is forthcoming in Deep Vellum's inaugural anthology, Best Literature in Translation 2024. Izidora's writing has been supported by English PEN, Art Omi, Bread Loaf, the Rona Jaffe Foundation, and by the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation, which awarded her a writing fellowship in 2023 for her in-progress memoir.Third Coast Translator's Collective website -https://tctranslatorscollective.org/Rona Jaffe Foundation:https://www.ronajaffefoundation.org/Elizabeth Kostova Foundation:https://ekf-writing-center.org/Art Omi:https://artomi.org/Bread Loaf:https://www.middlebury.edu/writers-conferences/writers-conference/apply/financial-aidEnglish Pen:https://www.englishpen.org/* For your Valuable feedback on this Episode - Please click the link below.https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/feedbackHarshaneeyam on Spotify App –https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onspotHarshaneeyam on Apple App – https://harshaneeyam.captivate.fm/onapple*Contact us - harshaneeyam@gmail.com ***Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by Interviewees in interviews conducted by Harshaneeyam Podcast are those of the Interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Harshaneeyam Podcast. Any content provided by Interviewees is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrpChartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
We discuss Vladimir Putin's position on the Israel-Hamas war and the outcome of Argentina's presidential election. Also in the programme: Daniel Gorman, director of English Pen, tells us about the state of books and literature in Ukraine and Carlota Rebelo interviews Christian Kroll, CEO of sustainable search engine Ecosia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Leigh-Anne Pinnock has embarked on her own solo career, almost two years after her band, Little Mix, called a hiatus - and has already released two songs. Now she's got a new book out, Believe, all about her life growing up, what it was really like going through the X Factor and how she found her voice. She joins Anita Rani to discuss it all. The Black British Book Festival is now in its third year. It aims to celebrate new and emerging Black British authors across all genres of literature. To find out more, Anita speaks to author and events producer Selina Brown, who launched the festival, and Margaret Busby, Britain's first black woman publisher, who is also currently President of English PEN, one of the world's oldest human rights organisations that campaigns for freedom of expression. Gesbeen Mohammed is the producer and director of Inside Iran: The Fight For Freedom, a new documentary that has taken more than a year to make. It's a story told through the eyes of ordinary Iranian women who took to the streets when Mahsa Amini died in September 2022. Gesbeen tells Anita about why these women chose to tell their stories, and what the current situation is in Iran. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lottie Garton
On Track - Trending Topics in Business and Law - by Haynes and Boone, LLP
Today, the head of our Haynes Boone media and entertainment practice group, Laura Prather, will interview Charlie Holt, Founder and Co-Chair of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe about the developments in implementing protections against SLAPP suits in Europe and how we got here. Laura is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who has litigated against SLAPPs in courts across the country and has advocated for and been instrumental in the passage of Anti-SLAPP laws throughout the U.S., recently returning from a stint as a Fulbright Scholar studying global freedom of expression issues. Charlie serves as Legal Counsel for Campaigns for Greenpeace International and UK Campaigns Manager for English PEN. He has a strong background in human rights advocacy and a thematic expertise in freedom of expression and the right to protest. Charlie was instrumental in establishing the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe and the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition and has personal experience through his work at Greenpeace in the devastating impact SLAPP suits can have on NGO's, protestors, and others who speak to power.
Today, the head of our Haynes Boone media and entertainment practice group, Laura Prather, will interview Charlie Holt, Founder and Co-Chair of the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe about the developments in implementing protections against SLAPP suits in Europe and how we got here. Laura is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who has litigated against SLAPPs in courts across the country and has advocated for and been instrumental in the passage of Anti-SLAPP laws throughout the U.S., recently returning from a stint as a Fulbright Scholar studying global freedom of expression issues. Charlie serves as Legal Counsel for Campaigns for Greenpeace International and UK Campaigns Manager for English PEN. He has a strong background in human rights advocacy and a thematic expertise in freedom of expression and the right to protest. Charlie was instrumental in establishing the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe and the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition and has personal experience through his work at Greenpeace in the devastating impact SLAPP suits can have on NGO's, protestors, and others who speak to power.
In the third episode of Color of Publishing, we focus on publishing perspectives from the United Kingdom with two prolific editors and writers, Margaret Busby and Ellah P. Wakatama. Host Bhakti Shringarpure engages the two experts in a wide-ranging conversation about the history of publishing in the UK, questions of diversity and representation, book acquisitions, taste and culture-making, and structural racism. Busby and Wakatama have been witness to the long arc of how publishing has evolved and they speak about the transformations they have witnessed in the business over the years but they also recall the times when diversity was almost non-existent. They are keen to celebrate the successes and the changes taking place in UK publishing as there are more opportunities now for Black, Asian and international writers. However, even as prizes, festivals and book advances grow, they worry whether the shift can be sustained. Busby and Wakatama also acknowledge the importance of camaraderie and shared mission between each other as Black women in publishing over the years .Margaret Busby is a Ghanaian born writer, editor and broadcaster. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisher when she co-founded the publishing house Allison and Busby in the 1960s. She has edited the Daughters of Africa anthology and the second New Daughters of Africa anthology. She was awarded the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement award in 2021 and the CBE, and she is a member of The Royal Society of Literature. She was appointed the president of English PEN in 2023.Ellah P. Wakatama was born in Zimbabwe, educated in the US and has been a London-based writer and editor for the past many years. She is editor-at-large at Canongate Books and chair of the Caine Prize for African Writing. She has edited several anthologies and has contributed to several of them as well. She was given an OBE for services to the publishing industry in 2011, and New African Magazine also named her one of “100 Most Influential Africans” in 2016.
In this episode of the SCBWI Podcast, we are joined by Lawrence Schimel!Lawrence Schimel is a full-time author, writing in both Spanish and English, who has published over 120 books in a wide range of genres. He is also a prolific literary translator, working into both English and Spanish, of over 140 books.His picture books have won a Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, been selected for the White Ravens from the International Youth Library in Munich, Germany and have been chosen for IBBY's Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities three times, among many other awards, honors, and distinctions.For his adult books, he has won the Lambda Literary Award (twice), the Spectrum Award, the Independent Publisher Book Award, and many others.His translations have won a PEN Translates Award from English PEN three times and a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship (with Layla Benitez-James for HIJA DEL CAMINO by Lucía Asué Mbomio Rubio), and have been an Honor Title for the Américas Award and the Global Literature in Libraries Best Translated YA book Award, and been finalists for the Eisner Award, the Thom Gunn Award, and the Lambda Literary Award, among other honors.His writing has been published in over 50 languages, including Afrikaans, Arabic, Armenian, Basque, Catalan, Changana, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Estonian, Farsi (Dari), Filipino, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Isindebele, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Luxembourgish, Macua, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romansh, Romanian, Russian, Scots, Sena, Sepedi, Serbian, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Tshivenda, Turkish, Ukrainian, Welsh, and Xitsonga translations.He started the Spain chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and served as its Regional Advisor for five years. He also coordinated the International SCBWI Conference in Madrid and the first two SCBWI-Bologna Book Fair conferences.Follow Lawrence Schimel on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LawrenceSchimelBuy BEDTIME, NOT PLAYTIME! here:https://bookshop.org/p/books/bedtime-not-playtime-lawrence-schimel/16170723?ean=9781459826731 and check out the rest of his books here:https://bookshop.org/contributors/lawrence-schimelSCBWI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scbwi/SCBWI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/scbwiBecome an SCBWI member today: https://www.scbwi.org/join-scbwi/Shop the SCBWI Bookshop.org page: https://bookshop.org/shop/SCBWISupport the showSupport the show
Professor Philippe Sands KC joins Professor Catherine Barnard to discuss his latest book, 'The Last Colony', which tells the story of the illegal British occupation of the Chagos Islands; the UK's role in the world; as well as Russia's war against Ukraine, from the perspective of international law. ---- Philippe Sands KC is Professor of the Public Understanding of Law at University College London Faculty of Laws and Samuel and Judith Pisar Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is a practising barrister at 11 King's Bench Walk (11KBW) and appears as counsel before the International Court of Justice and other international courts and tribunals. He sits as an arbitrator in international investment disputes and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He is author of 'Lawless World' (2005) and 'Torture Team'(2008) and numerous academic books on international law, and has contributed to the New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, the Financial Times, The Guardian and the New York Times. His most recent books are 'East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide' (2016) (awarded the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize, the 2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and the 2018 Prix Montaigne) and 'The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive' (2020), also available as BBC and France Culture podcasts. His latest book is 'The Last Colony: A Tale of Exile, Justice and Britain's Colonial Legacy' (2022). Philippe is President of English PEN and a member of the Board of the Hay Festival of Arts and Literature.
Arifa Akbar tells Michael Berkeley about her nocturnal life as a theatre critic and her desire to tell the story of her sister's death from tuberculosis. Arifa Akbar almost never has a quiet night in; as chief theatre critic of the Guardian she is out reviewing a production almost every evening. She also sits on the boards of the Orwell Foundation and of English PEN, and judges prizes including the UK Theatre Awards and the Women's Prize for Fiction. In conversation with Michael Berkeley, she discusses the book she wrote about the death of her older sister, Fauzia, from tuberculosis, in which she explores Fauzia's troubled life and why the medical profession failed to diagnose her illness until it was too late. Arifa chooses music from Bollywood films which remind her of her childhood, which was split between a prosperous and lively extended family in Lahore and poverty and social isolation in London. And she reveals how, after the death of her sister, she began to explore the tubercular heroines of nineteenth-century opera. Initially repelled by the glamorization of these women dying awful deaths, she has now come to love the music of Verdi and Puccini. Producer: Jane Greenwood A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 3
Forrest Gander, Christina MacSweeney, Megan McDowell, Achy Obejas, Nathan Scott McNamara To translate an author's work—staying faithful to their vision, style, and message, in a language not their own—is to assume an awesome responsibility: one that hasn't always gotten its just due as an art form. Four of today's most noteworthy and acclaimed translators of Latin American contemporary literature will shed light on the origins, rewards, pitfalls, and complexities of their discipline. Christina MacSweeney, a recipient of the Valle Inclan prize, has translated the works of leading Spanish-language authors including Valeria Luiselli, Jazmina Barrera, and Elvira Navarro. Megan McDowell, who received the English PEN award and whose works in translation have been nominated four times for the International Booker Prize, has translated many of the most important Latin American authors working today, including Samanta Schweblin, Alejandro Zambra, and Mariana Enriquez. Havana-born translator Achy Obejas, who has worked with Wendy Guerra, Rita Indiana, Junot Díaz, and Megan Maxwell, is also the author of a recent collection of poetry written in a mostly gender-free Spanish and English. And Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Forrest Gander, also a renowned translator, will share insights from his distinguished career. Find out why translation is a journey of never-ending discovery, creativity, and lessons in cross-cultural sensitivity and communication.Sponsored by the Center for the Art of Translation.
It has been 33 years since the fatwa from Iran that meant author, Salman Rushdie, had to go into hiding. In recent years, be began resuming his life but, as we saw in a violent demonstration in New York state yesterday, the threat never went away. Today's Mishal Husain spoke with crossbench peer and close friend of Salman Rushdie, Baroness Frances D'Souza, who led his defence after the Fatwa in 1989, working with the Human Rights group ‘Article 19' at the time. Mishal also spoke with writer and close friend, Lisa Appignanesi, who is the former president of English PEN which supports writers at risk and freedom of expression. (Image: Salman Rushdie court case, Credit: Lewis Whyld)
Rachel and Simon speak with the historian and novelist Antonia Fraser. She began her career in the 1950s as an assistant to George Weidenfeld, the co-founder of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, a British publishing house. Lady Antonia wrote her first book, "King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table", in her early twenties; her first major historical work, "Mary Queen of Scots", was published in 1969. Since then she has written biographies of Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, the six wives of Henry VIII and Marie Antoinette, the last of which was adapted into a film directed by Sofia Coppola and starred Kirsten Dunst. She has also written two volumes of autobiography, including "Must You Go? My Life with Harold Pinter". Lady Antonia has served as President of English PEN and Chairman of the Society of Authors. We spoke with her about the success of "Mary Queen of Scots", her research process and her new book, "The Case of the Married Woman". This episode is sponsored by Curtis Brown Creative, the writing school attached to the major literary agency. CBC has provided an exclusive discount for Always Take Notes listeners. You can use the code ATN20 for £20 off the full price of Writing a Memoir, or any other four- or six-week online writing course. You can find us online at alwaystakenotes.com, on Twitter @takenotesalways and on Instagram @alwaystakenotes. Our crowdfunding page is patreon.com/alwaystakenotes. Always Take Notes is presented by Simon Akam and Rachel Lloyd, and produced by Artemis Irvine. Our music is by Jessica Dannheisser and our logo was designed by James Edgar.
One way Philippe Sands has described his extraordinary new book The Ratline is as “a sort of Nazi love story”. While there is certainly a love-story between two Nazis at its heart—specifically the marriage of Otto and Charlotte Wachter—The Ratline is so much more than that. It's an investigation into the escape routes used by high-ranking German officials after the end of the Second World War, that reads at times, like a spy-thriller. It's a study of memory, responsibility and guilt. It's an examination of the self-deception that filial duty can engender. And it's an exploration of the geopolitical, ideological and historical fault-lines that are still making themselves felt, and horrendously so, today.Buy The Ratline here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/I/9781474608145/the-ratline-love-lies-and-justice-on-the-trail-of-a-nazi-fugitive*SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR BONUS EPISODESLooking for Friends of Shakespeare and Company read Ulysses? https://podfollow.com/sandcoulyssesIf you want to spend even more time at Shakespeare and Company, you can now subscribe for regular bonus episodes and early access to Friends of Shakespeare and Company read Ulysses.Subscribe on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/sandcoSubscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/shakespeare-and-company-writers-books-and-paris/id1040121937?l=enAll money raised goes to supporting “Friends of Shakespeare and Company” the bookshop's non-profit, created to fund our noncommercial activities—from the upstairs reading library, to the writers-in-residence program, to our charitable collaborations, and our free events.*Philippe Sands is an international lawyer and, since 2018, the president of English PEN. He is a frequent commentator on CNN and the BBC World Service. In 2003 he was appointed a Queen's Counsel. He lives in London.Follow Philippe on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/philippesandsAdam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Buy a signed copy of his novel FEEDING TIME here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/S/9781910296684/feeding-timeListen to Alex Freiman's Play It Gentle here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1 Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
The history of banning books reaches back thousands of years, but censorship is now being used increasingly as a political and cultural weapon, with more and more books disappearing from library shelves and syllabuses. Amid a rising tide of challenges to literature tackling themes such as LGBTQ+ issues, what could the future hold for books, readers and authors? This is The Overview. Presented by Julia O'Driscoll with The Week's Leaf Arbuthnot and guests Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, and Daniel Gorman, director of human rights organisation English PEN. Produced by Rich Jarman. For more Information: English Pen: https://www.englishpen.org/American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/oif
The best attributes of anyone or anything usually reside on the surface, which is where, in fact, all of us live out our lives In the sixty fifth episode of The Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast we are swathing ourselves in The Invisibility Cloak (隐身衣 / Yǐnshēn Yī). Languishing with me in the peace and pain of relative obscurity are Giray Fidan and Rauno Sainio, two translators of the book's author: Ge Fei, an imperceptible fabulist and three-time subject of this very show. I still haven't figured him out, and I'm sure he'd be glad of it. - // NEWS ITEMS // ACA Publishing/Sinoist Books bags an English PEN translation grant for The Sacred Clan by Liang Hong New book: The Artisans by Shen Fuyu, translated by Jeremy Tiang Chinese student writes Marxism dissertation on Warhammer 40K Lemony Snicket's new book has a cameo from Pu Songling and John Minford - // PHRASES OF THE DAY // (太阳还好端端的在天上挂着呢! - Tàiyáng hái hǎoduānduān dì zài tiānshàng guà zhene - And the sun is still hanging right up there in the sky!) (安居乐业 - Ānjūlèyè - To live in peace, and work happily) - // MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE // I Found My Mind in Connecticut - Cage La Follia - Vivaldi Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami The Time Regulation Institute by Ahmet Hamdi Tampinar Naked CEO Grant Horsfield and his Moganshan resort The Altaic language family and its syntax - // Handy TrChFic Links // The TrChFic mailing list Episode Transcripts Help Support TrChFic The TrChFic Map INSTAGRAM // TWITTER // DISCORD // HOMEPAGE
Arifa Akbar is chief theatre critic of The Guardian and author of Consumed, which has just been shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award. Arifa has been arts correspondent and literary editor of The Independent. She has written for newspapers and magazines ranging from The Observer to the FT and is a trustee of the Orwell Foundation and English PEN. In this podcast, she talks about the role of instinct in our careers, the power of the deadline and her journey from childhood poverty to one of the most powerful roles in arts journalism.
Today I welcome the inimitable Maureen Freely who introduces us to her three worlds - the USA, Turkey and England. What a treat and privilege to have Maureen as my guest. Maureen is a writer with seven novels to her name and many other strings to her bow. She is well-known as a translator of the Turkish Nobel Laureate, Orhan Pamuk. She has also brought into English several classics as well as works by Turkish rising stars.For many years, she worked as a journalist in London, writing about literature, social justice, and human rights as chair of the translators association. And more recently as a president and chair of English Pen, she has campaigned for writers and freedom of expression, internationally. She teaches at the university of Warwick.Maureen talks about her love of languages and of the challenges she faced when she was translating Orhan Pamuk's Nobel prize winning novel. Along the way we talk about what it means to be be accepted in a country that is not your own. Maureen is charming, eloquent and profoundly philosophical about life and our place in the world. I absolutely loved recording this episode and hope you enjoy listening to it. What a great guest!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maureen_Freelyhttps://www.harvardmagazine.com/2017/11/maureen-freely-translator______________________If you would like to talk to me about your two worlds, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me. My address is hello@twoworlds.oneme.cafeMusic thanks to John Bartmann
Continuing our month-long season to celebrate the English PEN centenary, World Book Club talks to multi-award-winning Turkish-Kurdish writer and activist Burhan Sönmez about his unforgettable novel Istanbul, Istanbul. At once powerfully political and intensely personal, Istanbul, Istanbul is the story of four prisoners kept in underground cells beneath the city, who tell one another stories about their city to pass the time. There are two Istanbuls, one below ground and one above, yet in reality both are one and the same. Sonmez worked as a lawyer in Istanbul and was a member of IHD, the Human Rights Society, and a founder of BirGün, a daily opposition newspaper. He was seriously injured following an assault by police in 1996 in Turkey and received treatment in Britain afterwards. Here he discusses his novel, censorship and the tense political situation in Turkey, and the invaluable impact of English PEN and other such pressure groups with presenter Ritula Shah and readers from around the globe. Istanbul, Istanbul was translated by Ümit Hussein. (Picture: Burhan Sönmez. Photo credit: Roberto Gandola.)
Little Amal is a 3.5m high puppet who has been walking nearly 9000 kilometres across Europe this summer in recognition of the journey made by thousands of child refugees every year in search of family members, safety and a new home. To mark this extraordinary project, five award-winning European writers have written short stories inspired by Amal's walk. Each one has responded imaginatively to the puppet's journey through their own country, reflecting the hopes and fears of both Amal herself and the people she encounters on her way. As she strides through the stories and across Europe, Amal takes on many guises. She's a refugee child from a camp on the Turkish Syrian border, who sets off in search of her mother, accompanied by an alter-ego puppet guide; she's befriended by a seagull in Greece; she strikes fear into the heart of a small, lonely boy in Italy; becomes the target for a kidnapping in Belgium… The Walk has been created by Good Chance Theatre, who started the theatre in the Calais Jungle and Handspring Puppet company, who created the puppets for War Horse. Little Amal began her walk in Turkey at the end of July and, helped by a team of puppeteers, performers, local people and arts organisations, she'll walk nearly 9000km across Europe, finishing in Manchester in November. She arrives in the UK, at Folkestone, on 19 October. This episode is Milk of the World by Sema Kaygusuz. A young refugee girl is rescued from a camp on the Syrian Turkish border by a huge puppet, who becomes her protector and alter ego as they set off to find the girl's mother. Sema Kaygusuz is one of Turkey's leading fiction writers, whose novels and short stories have been widely translated and won many awards, including an English PEN award for Every Fire You Tend, which also won the TA First Translation Prize for her translator, Nicholas Glastonbury, who translated this story. The story is read by Sirine Saba. Producers: Sara Davies with Tobias Withers A Cast Iron Radio Production
100 years ago English PEN was founded to create a “common meeting ground in every country for all writers.” and it quickly grew into an international organisation. The organisation has long campaigned for Freedom of Expression for writers. To mark the centenary, in a special edition of World Book Cafe, Ritula Shah and her guests discuss current threats to Freedom of Expression around the world and hear from writers, including Tsitsi Dangarembga, about the power and importance of storytelling.
This month, to kick off a mini-season to celebrate a very special centenary World Book Club talks, for a second time, to the Nobel Prize-winning giant of world literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, about one hundred years of the writers' organisation English PEN. PEN is the influential pressure group which helps support and campaign for the release of writers held unlawfully in jail around the globe and which helped to secure Soyinka's release in 1969, after 26 months of detention without trial by the military regime in Nigeria. Guest presenter Ritula Shah also discusses Wole Soyinka's first new novel in half a century with the author and his readers around the world: Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth is a bitingly witty whodunit, a scathing indictment of Nigeria's ruling elite, and a powerful call to arms from one of the country's most relentless political activists and world-famous writer. (Picture: Wole Soyinka. Photo credit: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images.)
Rabih Alameddine, English PEN at 100 with Philippe Sands and Elif Shafak, Editors' Pick
TORCH Book at Lunchtime webinar on Porcelain: Poem on the Downfall of my City by Durs Grünbein, translated by Professor Karen Leeder. Book at Lunchtime is a series of bite-sized book discussions held weekly during term-time, with commentators from a range of disciplines. The events are free to attend and open to all. About the book: Porcelain is a book-length cycle of forty-nine poems written over the course of more than a decade that together serve as a lament for Durs Grünbein's hometown, Dresden, which was destroyed in the Allied firebombing of February 1945. The book is at once a history and “declaration of love” to the famed “Venice on the Elbe,” so catastrophically razed by British bombs; a musical fusion of eyewitness accounts, family memories, and stories, of monuments and relics; the story of the city's destiny as seen through a prism of biographical enigmas, its intimate relation to the “white gold” porcelain that made its fortune and reflections on the power and limits of poetry. Published in English for the first time, this translation by Professor Karen Leeder marks the seventy-fifth year anniversary of the firebombing. Panel includes: Professor Karen Leeder is a Professor of Modern Languages at Oxford University and a Fellow of New College, Oxford. She has published widely on modern German culture and is a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature, most recently winning the English PEN award and an American PEN/Heim award for her translation of Ulrike Almut Sandig. She was a TORCH Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the Southbank Centre from 2014-15 and she currently works with MPT, Poet in the City, and The Poetry Society on her project Mediating Modern Poetry. Durs Grünbein was born on 9 October 1962 in Dresden. He is one of the most important and internationally powerful German poets and essayists. After the opening of the Iron Curtain, he traveled through Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States. He was a guest of the German Department of New York University and The Villa Aurora in Los Angeles. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Georg Büchner Prize, the Friedrich Nietzsche Prize, the Friedrich Hölderlin Prize and the Polish Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award. His books have been translated into several languages. He lives in Berlin and Rome. Edmund de Waal is an internationally acclaimed artist and writer, best known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels, often created in response to collections and archives or the history of a particular place. His interventions have been made for diverse spaces and museums worldwide, including The British Museum, London; The Frick Collection, New York; Ateneo Veneto, Venice; Schindler House, Los Angeles; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna and V&A Museum, London. De Waal is also renowned for his bestselling family memoir, The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010), and The White Road (2015). His new book, Letters to Camondo, a series of haunting letters written during lockdown was published in April 2021. He was made an OBE for his services to art in 2011 and awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction by Yale University in 2015. Born 1964 Nottingham. He lives and works in London. Professor Patrick Major is Professor of History at the University of Reading, where he is also an associate of the East German Studies Archive. His research interests are primarily the political, social and cultural history of divided Germany in the Cold War. He has published on the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall and Hollywood's depictions of 'bad Nazis' and 'good Germans', and is currently researching the bombing of Berlin in the Second World War.
TORCH Book at Lunchtime webinar on Porcelain: Poem on the Downfall of my City by Durs Grünbein, translated by Professor Karen Leeder. Book at Lunchtime is a series of bite-sized book discussions held weekly during term-time, with commentators from a range of disciplines. The events are free to attend and open to all. About the book: Porcelain is a book-length cycle of forty-nine poems written over the course of more than a decade that together serve as a lament for Durs Grünbein's hometown, Dresden, which was destroyed in the Allied firebombing of February 1945. The book is at once a history and “declaration of love” to the famed “Venice on the Elbe,” so catastrophically razed by British bombs; a musical fusion of eyewitness accounts, family memories, and stories, of monuments and relics; the story of the city's destiny as seen through a prism of biographical enigmas, its intimate relation to the “white gold” porcelain that made its fortune and reflections on the power and limits of poetry. Published in English for the first time, this translation by Professor Karen Leeder marks the seventy-fifth year anniversary of the firebombing. Panel includes: Professor Karen Leeder is a Professor of Modern Languages at Oxford University and a Fellow of New College, Oxford. She has published widely on modern German culture and is a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature, most recently winning the English PEN award and an American PEN/Heim award for her translation of Ulrike Almut Sandig. She was a TORCH Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the Southbank Centre from 2014-15 and she currently works with MPT, Poet in the City, and The Poetry Society on her project Mediating Modern Poetry. Durs Grünbein was born on 9 October 1962 in Dresden. He is one of the most important and internationally powerful German poets and essayists. After the opening of the Iron Curtain, he traveled through Europe, Southeast Asia, and the United States. He was a guest of the German Department of New York University and The Villa Aurora in Los Angeles. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Georg Büchner Prize, the Friedrich Nietzsche Prize, the Friedrich Hölderlin Prize and the Polish Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award. His books have been translated into several languages. He lives in Berlin and Rome. Edmund de Waal is an internationally acclaimed artist and writer, best known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels, often created in response to collections and archives or the history of a particular place. His interventions have been made for diverse spaces and museums worldwide, including The British Museum, London; The Frick Collection, New York; Ateneo Veneto, Venice; Schindler House, Los Angeles; Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna and V&A Museum, London. De Waal is also renowned for his bestselling family memoir, The Hare with Amber Eyes (2010), and The White Road (2015). His new book, Letters to Camondo, a series of haunting letters written during lockdown was published in April 2021. He was made an OBE for his services to art in 2011 and awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction by Yale University in 2015. Born 1964 Nottingham. He lives and works in London. Professor Patrick Major is Professor of History at the University of Reading, where he is also an associate of the East German Studies Archive. His research interests are primarily the political, social and cultural history of divided Germany in the Cold War. He has published on the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall and Hollywood's depictions of 'bad Nazis' and 'good Germans', and is currently researching the bombing of Berlin in the Second World War.
Arifa Akbar is the Guardian's chief theatre critic. A journalist for over twenty years, she is the former literary editor of the Independent, where she also worked as arts correspondent and news reporter. She has previously contributed to the Observer and the Financial Times. She is on the board of trustees for the Orwell Foundation and English PEN. Short pieces of her non-fiction have appeared in several anthologies. Consumed is her first book. 5x15 brings together five outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. There are only two rules - no scripts and only 15 minutes each. Learn more about 5x15 events: 5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories
The weekend's biggest discussion topics, with Georgina Godwin. A round-up of the Saturday newspapers, Andrew Tuck's column and Daniel Gorman of English PEN on the work it does to support freedom of expression.
Academic and barrister Philippe Sands joins Conor Gearty to discuss his life and career.Philippe Sands is Professor of the Public Understanding of Law at University College London and a practicing barrister at Matrix Chambers. He frequently appears before international courts, including the International Criminal Court and the World Court in The Hague, and has been involved in many of the most important cases of recent years, including Pinochet, Rwanda, Iraq and Guantanamo. Sands is also an author, writes regularly for the press and serves as a commentator for the BBC, CNN and other radio and television producers. His books include Torture Team (2008), East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity (2016) – which was named the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction in 2016, and The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (2020).Speaker: Professor Philippe Sands, Professor of the Public Understanding of Law, UCL; Barrister, Matrix Chambers; Author; President, English PEN; Jury Member, The British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural UnderstandingChair: Professor Conor Gearty FBA, Vice-President (Social Sciences), The British Academy; Professor of Human Rights Law, London School of EconomicsSHAPE (Social sciences, humanities & the arts for people and the economy) is a new collective name for those subjects that help us understand ourselves, others and the human world around us.
TORCH Book at Lunchtime event on Sophocles: Antigone and other tragedies by Professor Oliver Taplin. With panellists Professor Karen Leeder and Dr Lucy Jackson. Book at Lunchtime is a series of bite-sized book discussions held during term-time, with commentators from a range of disciplines. The events are free to attend and open to all. Sophocles stands as one of the greatest dramatists of all time, and one of the most influential on artists and thinkers over the centuries. His plays are deeply disturbing and unpredictable, unrelenting and open-ended, refusing to present firm answers to the questions of human existence, or to provide a redemptive justification of the ways of gods to men-or women. These three tragedies portray the extremes of human suffering and emotion, turning the heroic myths into supreme works of poetry and dramatic action. Professor Oliver Taplin's original and distinctive verse translations of Antigone, Deianeira and Electra convey the vitality of Sophocles' poetry and the vigour of the plays in performance, doing justice to both the sound of the poetry and the theatricality of the tragedies. Panel includes: Professor Oliver Taplin is an Emeritus Professor of Classics at Oxford University. His research has focused on the reception of poetry and drama through performance and material culture in both ancient and modern times. He co-founded the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama, and has collaborated on a number of high-profile theatre productions. In recent years he has turned his attention to translating Greek Drama as verse to be spoken and performed. Professor Karen Leeder is a Professor of Modern Languages at Oxford University and a Fellow of New College, Oxford. She has published widely on modern German culture and is a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature, most recently winning the English PEN award and an American PEN/Heim award for her translation of Ulrike Almut Sandig. She was a TORCH Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the Southbank Centre from 2014-15 and she currently works with MPT, Poet in the City, and The Poetry Society on her project Mediating Modern Poetry. Dr Lucy Jackson is an Assistant Professor in Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. Her research focuses on ancient Greek and Roman theatre and performance, neo-Latin translations of Greek drama and the reception of classical theatre in the sixteenth century, and translation studies and theory in the ancient and modern worlds. Her most recent publication is The Chorus of Drama in the Fourth Century BCE.
TORCH Book at Lunchtime event on Sophocles: Antigone and other tragedies by Professor Oliver Taplin. With panellists Professor Karen Leeder and Dr Lucy Jackson. Book at Lunchtime is a series of bite-sized book discussions held during term-time, with commentators from a range of disciplines. The events are free to attend and open to all. Sophocles stands as one of the greatest dramatists of all time, and one of the most influential on artists and thinkers over the centuries. His plays are deeply disturbing and unpredictable, unrelenting and open-ended, refusing to present firm answers to the questions of human existence, or to provide a redemptive justification of the ways of gods to men-or women. These three tragedies portray the extremes of human suffering and emotion, turning the heroic myths into supreme works of poetry and dramatic action. Professor Oliver Taplin's original and distinctive verse translations of Antigone, Deianeira and Electra convey the vitality of Sophocles' poetry and the vigour of the plays in performance, doing justice to both the sound of the poetry and the theatricality of the tragedies. Panel includes: Professor Oliver Taplin is an Emeritus Professor of Classics at Oxford University. His research has focused on the reception of poetry and drama through performance and material culture in both ancient and modern times. He co-founded the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama, and has collaborated on a number of high-profile theatre productions. In recent years he has turned his attention to translating Greek Drama as verse to be spoken and performed. Professor Karen Leeder is a Professor of Modern Languages at Oxford University and a Fellow of New College, Oxford. She has published widely on modern German culture and is a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature, most recently winning the English PEN award and an American PEN/Heim award for her translation of Ulrike Almut Sandig. She was a TORCH Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the Southbank Centre from 2014-15 and she currently works with MPT, Poet in the City, and The Poetry Society on her project Mediating Modern Poetry. Dr Lucy Jackson is an Assistant Professor in Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. Her research focuses on ancient Greek and Roman theatre and performance, neo-Latin translations of Greek drama and the reception of classical theatre in the sixteenth century, and translation studies and theory in the ancient and modern worlds. Her most recent publication is The Chorus of Drama in the Fourth Century BCE.
Episode 084. Adam Lowe celebrates life by discussing his abundant evolution as a writer, performer, and publisher. Adam Lowe is an award-winning writer, publisher, and creative producer from Leeds, who now lives in Manchester. He is UK LGBT+ History Month Poet Laureate and was the Olympic poet for Yorkshire in 2012. He has taught at the University of Leeds, UCLAN, and English PEN. His life writing encompasses prose memoir, theatre, and poetry, and his performances are often intimate, confessional and playful. He often incorporates queer and Caribbean performance elements (spoken word, drag, jazz, song) into his work. https://adam-lowe.com
TORCH Book at Lunchtime event on Sophocles: Antigone and other tragedies by Professor Oliver Taplin. With panellists Professor Karen Leeder and Dr Lucy Jackson. Book at Lunchtime is a series of bite-sized book discussions held during term-time, with commentators from a range of disciplines. The events are free to attend and open to all. Sophocles stands as one of the greatest dramatists of all time, and one of the most influential on artists and thinkers over the centuries. His plays are deeply disturbing and unpredictable, unrelenting and open-ended, refusing to present firm answers to the questions of human existence, or to provide a redemptive justification of the ways of gods to men-or women. These three tragedies portray the extremes of human suffering and emotion, turning the heroic myths into supreme works of poetry and dramatic action. Professor Oliver Taplin's original and distinctive verse translations of Antigone, Deianeira and Electra convey the vitality of Sophocles' poetry and the vigour of the plays in performance, doing justice to both the sound of the poetry and the theatricality of the tragedies. Panel includes: Professor Oliver Taplin is an Emeritus Professor of Classics at Oxford University. His research has focused on the reception of poetry and drama through performance and material culture in both ancient and modern times. He co-founded the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama, and has collaborated on a number of high-profile theatre productions. In recent years he has turned his attention to translating Greek Drama as verse to be spoken and performed. Professor Karen Leeder is a Professor of Modern Languages at Oxford University and a Fellow of New College, Oxford. She has published widely on modern German culture and is a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature, most recently winning the English PEN award and an American PEN/Heim award for her translation of Ulrike Almut Sandig. She was a TORCH Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the Southbank Centre from 2014-15 and she currently works with MPT, Poet in the City, and The Poetry Society on her project Mediating Modern Poetry. Dr Lucy Jackson is an Assistant Professor in Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. Her research focuses on ancient Greek and Roman theatre and performance, neo-Latin translations of Greek drama and the reception of classical theatre in the sixteenth century, and translation studies and theory in the ancient and modern worlds. Her most recent publication is The Chorus of Drama in the Fourth Century BCE.
Megan McDowell has translated some of Latin America's most important and influential contemporary writers, including Argentine authors Samanta Schweblin and Mariana Enriquez and Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra. Her translations have won the English PEN award and the Premio Valle-Inclán, and she has been nominated three times for the International Booker Prize. Megan and John spoke about the visibility of translators in the creative process, her role opening up Latin American literature to English-speaking audiences, the unique contexts and vocabulary of Chile and Argentina, and how more women than ever are seeing their work published and translated. You can follow Megan on Instagram: @meganamcdowell Read this conversation in The Paris Review: https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/07/24/the-uncanny-double-an-interview-with-megan-mcdowell/#more-112553 Read this review of Megan's translation of Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, long listed for the Man Booker international prize: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/24/fever-dream-by-samanta-schweblin-review Follow us: @MiradasPod Email us: info@miradaspodcast.com Visit our website: www.miradaspodcast.com You can sign up to our mailing list for the latest news from Miradas on our website.
TORCH Goes Digital! presents a series of weekly live events Big Tent - Live Events! Translation Week Part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the future Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. This event presents a conversation between academic, translator and writer Karen Leeder and poet, performer and novelist Ulrike Almut Sandig who have been collaborating for the last eight years. Karen and Ulrike were due to appear together with Sandig’s poetry band LANDSCHAFT (with Grigory Semenchuk) at the Big Tent! in May 2020. Ulrike Sandig is that rare thing: a writer who is as much at home on the stage as the page. She began as a guerrilla poet, pasting poems to lampposts, and today often collaborates with sound artists, musicians and filmmakers to take her poetry to the audiences that poetry doesn’t usually reach. Translation is a vital part of all this, not only at the most fundamental level of turning a feeling, image, or an idea into a poem on the page, but also carrying over that impetus into performance, the screen, a classical orchestra or an electronic hip hop band. She also works at translating older texts for contemporary times as with her Grimm cycle (published in English in 2018) which reanimates the dark side of the Household Tales of the Brothers Grimm for our own age. A further level comes with translation into English, which itself has become part of new collaborations - for example, in the animated poetry films by Beate Kunath & Eléonore Roedel that have taken their work to new audiences all over the world through the medium of English. In this event, Karen and Ulrike will perform recent work, and discuss the creative transformations poetry can undergo, with emples from Ulrike’s work for page, stage, film and gig, along with their own creative process and the way poetry, that voice from the wings, can become part of an inclusive political project. Biographies: Professor Karen J. Leeder Karen Leeder started her academic life researching the samizdat poetry, art and music scene that existed in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall. She has continued her interest in the GDR and has published widely on modern German culture, especially of the post-1945 and contemporary periods. She is a prize-winning translator of contemporary German literature and has been awarded residences in UK and Berlin. Most recently she won the John Frederick Nims Memorial Prize for her translation of Durs Grünbein. Her translation of Ulrike Almut Sandig’s Thick of it (Seagull Books, 2018) won an English PEN award and an American PEN/Heim award, and was runner up for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize (2019). Grimm appeared in a special limited edition with Hurst Street Books in 2018. Their new collaboration, due in Summer 2020, I am a field full of rapeseed give cover to deer and shine like thirteen oil paintings laid one on top of the other is ‘hotly anticipated’ by the New York Times. She was TORCH Knowledge Exchange Fellow with the Southbank Centre, London (2014-2015) and keeps up work especially with MPT, Poet in the City, and The Poetry Society on her project Mediating Modern Poetry: http://www.mmp.mml.ox.ac.uk/. Ulrike Almut Sandig (Poet) Born in rural Großenhain in former East Germany in 1979, Ulrike Almut Sandig started life as a kind of guerrilla poet, pasting poems onto lamp posts on the streets of Leipzig with friends and handing them out on flyers and free postcards. Two books of stories and four volumes of her poetry have been published to date, including, most recently, Ich bin ein Feld voller Raps verstecke die Rehe und leuchte wie dreizehn Ölgemälde übereinandergelegt. Her first novel will appear this Autumn. Performance is a key part of Sandig’s work. She frequently collaborates with filmmakers, sound artists and musicians and her first CD with her poetry band LANDSCHAFT (with Grigory Semenchuk) appeared in 2018. Sandig has often appeared in the UK including at The Edinburgh Festival, Hay Festival, and StAnza and won many prizes, including the Leonce and Lena Prize (2009), the Literary Prize of the Federation of German Industries (2017), the Wilhelm Lehmann Prize (2018) and the Horst-Bingel Prize (2018). She lives in Berlin with her family.
How German argument differs from English, the links between Arabic and Chinese and different versions of The 1001 Nights to the use of slang and multiple languages in the work of young performers and writers in the West Midlands: John Gallagher looks at a series of research projects at different UK universities which are exploring the impact and benefits of multilingualism. Katrin Kohl is Professor of German Literature and a Fellow of Jesus College. She runs the Creative Multilingualism project. https://www.creativeml.ox.ac.uk/about/people/katrin-kohl https://www.creativeml.ox.ac.uk/creative-multilingualism-manifesto Wen-chin Ouyang is a professor of Arabic literature and comparative literature at SOAS, University of London. Her books include editing an edition for Everyman's Library called The Arabian Nights: An Anthology and Politics of Nostalgia in the Arabic Novel: Nation-State, Modernity and Tradition. You can hear more from Wen-chin in this Free Thinking discussion of The One Thousand and One Nights https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b052gz7g Rajinder Dudrah is Professor of Cultural Studies & Creative Industries at Birmingham City University. His books include the co-edited South Asian Creative and Cultural Industries (Dudrah, R. & Malik, K. 2020) and Graphic Novels and Visual Cultures in South Asia (Dudrah, R. & Dawson Varughese, E. 2020). Saturday, 26 September is the European Day of Languages 2020 and Wednesday, 30 September is International Translation Day 2020 which English PEN is marking with a programme of online events https://www.englishpen.org/posts/events/international-translation-day-2020/ You might also be interested in this Free Thinking conversation about language and belonging featuring Preti Taneja with Guy Gunaratne, Dina Nayeri, Michael Rosen, Momtaza Mehri and Deena Mohamed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07fvbhn Here is a Free Thinking episode that looks at the language journey of the 29 London bus https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00014qk Steven Pinker and Will Self explore Language in this episode of Free Thinking https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hysms Arundhati Roy talks about translation and Professor Nicola McLelland and Vicky Gough of the British Council look at language learning in schools https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b5hk01 This episode of Free Thinking is put together in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council, part of UKRI as one of a series of discussions focusing on new academic research also available to download as New Thinking episodes on the BBC Arts & Ideas podcast feed. You can find the whole collection here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03zws90 Producer: Karl Bos
Daniel Gorman, director of English Pen, on how the organisation is working to keep writers safe around the world. Plus: a round-up of the weekend's papers and how Zürich's art scene is changing.
We're excited to announce the new Read Smart Podcast. The show is hosted by BBC's Razia Iqbal, produced by The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction and is generously supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation. The new series builds on last year's successful podcasts released to celebrate the prize's 21st anniversary. Each month, Razia explores the increasingly popular world of non-fiction books. Expect to hear from prize winning authors, judges and publishing insiders. It also goes behind the scenes of the 2020 prize, which is awarded this autumn. We kick off Episode 1 looking at troublemakers and freedom of expression. This episode features the investigative journalist, writer and filmmaker David France, whose account of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1990s, How to Survive A Plague, won The Baillie Gifford Prize 2017. Razia is joined by Yasemin Congar, who translated I Will Never See the World Again by Ahmet Altan, which was longlisted for The Baillie Gifford Prize in 2019, and was written and published from prison, and by Hannah Trevarthen from English PEN.
"Beyond East West Street: the Path of Human Rights" - Philippe Sands QC delivers the inaugural annual lecture of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in Dublin, Ireland on 16 December 2019. Philippe Sands is Professor of Law at University College London, and a practising barrister at Matrix Chambers in London. He appears as counsel before international courts and sits as an arbitrator. He is author of Lawless World (2005) and Torture Team (2008) and several academic books on international law. East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide (2016) won the 2016 Baillie Gifford (formerly Samuel Johnson) Prize, the 2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and the 2018 Prix Montaigne. The sequel, which is also the subject of a BBC podcast, The Ratline, will be published in April 2020. Philippe is President of English PEN and a member of the Board of the Hay Festival. This podcast was produced by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was established under statute on 1 November 2014 to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, to promote a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding, to promote understanding and awareness of the importance of human rights and equality, and to work towards the elimination of human rights abuses and discrimination.
Philippe Sands QC is Professor of Law at University College London and a practising barrister at Matrix Chambers. Here he talks about his friend Ahmet Altan and his book: I Will Never See the World Again, written from inside a maximum security prison in Turkey. Philippe appears before many international courts and tribunals, including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, and sits as an arbitrator at ICSID, the PCA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Philippe is the author of Lawless World (2005) and Torture Team (2008) and several academic books on international law, and has contributed to the New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, the Financial Times and The Guardian. East West Street: On the Origins of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide (Alfred Knopf/Weidenfeld & Nicolson) won the 2016 Baillie Gifford (formerly Samuel Johnson) Prize, the 2017 British Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year, and the 2018 Prix Montaigne. The book is accompanied by a prizewinning BBC Storyville film, My Nazi Legacy: What Our Fathers Did. He is currently writing the sequel, which is the subject of his hit BBC podcast, The Ratline. Philippe is President of English PEN, and a vice president of the Hay Literary Festival. Recorded live at the EartH in London's Hackney on 19th March 2019. 5x15 brings together outstanding individuals to tell of their lives, passions and inspirations. Learn more about 5x15 events: www.5x15stories.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/5x15stories Facebook: www.facebook.com/5x15stories Instagram: www.instagram.com/5x15stories
Memory, desire, madness: these are the themes that fascinate Lisa Appignanesi and that she’s explored over the last forty years in novels, in memoirs, and in prize-winning books such as “Mad, Bad and Sad”, a history of women and mind doctors. Lisa Appignanesi is the Chair of the Royal Society of Literature and a former President of English PEN, an organisation which campaigns for free speech. She’s written about cabaret, about Proust and fin-de-siecle Paris, about Simone de Beauvoir, about Freud, and about her own troubled search for identity. In Private Passions she tells Michael Berkeley about her childhood in Poland, where she was born Elżbieta Borensztejn, and about the way identities in her family were always shifting, “always there for the making”. She reflects on the power of the dead to haunt us, expressed by Monteverdi in his opera Orfeo, and admires the strength of singers Bessie Smith and Lotte Lenya, alongside music choices such as Mozart's ’The Marriage of Figaro’, Laurie Anderson, and Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’. Produced by Elizabeth Burke A Loftus Production for BBC Radio 3
Thanks so much to Hannah from English Pen for coming along!https://www.englishpen.org/More about Banned Books Weekhttps://bannedbooksweek.org/Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/vintagebooksSign up to our bookish newsletter to hear all about our new releases, see exclusive extracts and win prizes: po.st/vintagenewsletterMusic is Orbiting A Distant Planet by Quantum Jazz http://po.st/OrbitingADistant See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Welcome to Wales Arts Review‘s new podcast series with Sophie Baggott, who, over the coming months, will be exploring women’s literature from around the world. BookSHElf is a new series of interviews and reviews delving into the world of translation. In episode 1, Sophie Baggott talks with English PEN’s Translation Manager, Theodora Danek. Theodora joined English PEN in November 2016 to manage the translation programme. She has a passion for language, literature and history, having previously worked as an Editorial Consultant at New Books in German, as Programme Manager at the Austrian Cultural Forum London and as a Museum Educator at the Technisches Museum Vienna. She is an unrepentant European and holds masters degrees in History and Religious Studies from the universities of Vienna and Durham.
The National Centre for Writing launched at Dragon Hall in Norwich this month. To celebrate and explore what that means, we talk with Chief Executive Chris Gribble and Programme Director Peggy Hughes about the ambitions and aims of organisation and what it means for writers around the UK. Hosted by Simon Jones, writer and Digital Marketing Manager at the National Centre for Writing. Find out more about the National Centre for Writing: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/introducing-the-national-centre-for-writing/ Mentioned events: Dragon Hall Salon: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/whats-on/dragon-hall-salon/ Translating Comics: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/whats-on/comics-its-not-just-in-the-bubble/ Family Drop-in Day: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/whats-on/open-house/ Noirwich: https://noirwich.co.uk/ Useful links: Tilted Axis ‘Translating Feminisms' Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/71029616/translating-feminisms-poetry-chapbooks-from-across All about the Worlds 2018 symposium: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/worlds/ Peggy's Indie Bookshop Tour: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/article/norfolk-bookshops/ Poetry Translation Centre: http://www.poetrytranslation.org/ English PEN:https://www.englishpen.org/ Free Word Centre: https://www.freewordcentre.com/ University of East Anglia: https://www.uea.ac.uk/ Music by Bennet Maples: http://sonicfruit.co.uk/
In the second episode of our two Man Booker International Prize 2018 podcasts, host Joe Haddow delves into this year's shortlisted books with actor and author Charlie Higson and the Writers in Translation Programme Manager from English PEN, Theodora Danek. We then head to the Victoria & Albert Museum for the exciting winner ceremony, where Joe catches up with shortlisted translator Frank Wynne and journalist and TV personality Ian Hislop. We also hear from László Krasznahorkai, who was awarded the prize in 2015 and shortlisted this year for The World Goes On, who discusses the effect of the award on writers in their native countries. Last but certainly not least, Joe speaks to this year's winning author Olga Tokarczuk and translator Jennifer Croft to see how they feel just 24 hours after the award. They discuss Olga's novel Flights, the impact they feel the prize will have on her career and what her upcoming projects are. Join the conversation on our social media channels @ManBookerPrize #FinestFiction
Are we currently seeing a global war of information that is escalating, both openly and covertly, far beyond what many of us are aware of? And to what extent does the presence of propaganda and manipulated information in news and social media threaten our democracy and our ability to make informed decisions? 00:00:00 Introduction 00:10:19 Keynote address - Julian Assange 00:29:42 Interview with Assange 00:55:35 Assange's Q&A with the audience 01:19:07 Keynote address - Jonathan Heawood 01:43:26 Keynote address - John Pilger 02:17:27 Heawood's and Pilger's Q&A with the audience Julian Assange joins the panel via videolink. Assange is an award-winning journalist and the founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks. He is also a programmer, cryptographer, author and activist. Founded in 2006, WikiLeaks has published millions of leaked documents and several videos. This includes logs that relate to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the controversial “Collateral Murder” video from Iraq, U.S. diplomatic cables, and election campaign related e-mails from the Democratic National Committee and from Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta. Jonathan Heawood is the CEO and founder of IMPRESS, the only press regulator to be recognised as independent and effective under the Royal Charter in the United Kingdom. He has previously worked as a journalist and human rights campaigner, and he is a former director of English PEN. Heawood has written on free speech and regulation for various publications, including The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Fiction, Critical Quarterly, Journal of Media Law, Ethical Space and Communications Law. John Pilger is an Australian journalist, author and documentary film-maker. Pilger has covered military, political and cultural conflicts around the world for more than five decades, and his criticism of American, Australian and British foreign policy is strongly reflected his documentaries and writings. He worked at the Daily Mirror from 1963 to 1986 and wrote a regular column for the New Statesman magazine from 1991 to 2014. Pilger has won numerous awards as a journalist and film-maker, and he is one of only two people to win British journalism’s highest award twice.
TRANSLATOR OR ACTIVIST? Join PEN staff for an informal session on the crossover between translation and activism. For more than 50 years, PEN has been campaigning on behalf of writers at risk around the world - whether imprisoned, on trial, subject to threats or whose work is banned. Translation has always been a crucial component of this work: helping to inform the outside world of their situation, facilitating contact with their families and legal teams, and giving a voice to those that have been silenced. In more recent years, PEN has also worked with displaced writers and those living in exile, many of whom have themselves been at risk in their own countries and often struggle to have their voices heard here in the UK. During this informal session, we will discuss the various ways in which translators can support PEN’s work and, more generally, use their linguistic skills for good.
Acclaimed representative of the Polish school of reportage, Witold Szabłowski, and the Guardian‘s favourite reportage illustrator, George Butler, share the lessons they’ve learned about how to tell stories that hold onto the truth of another’s experience. This event was chaired by Jo Glanville, Director of English PEN.
In the penultimate episode of our 2016 series, we look at what makes a winner with Ben Okri. First, Joe Haddow is joined by Catherine Taylor, Deputy Director of English PEN and Anna Fielding, Editor of Emerald Street to discuss former Man Booker winner Margaret Atwood and the duty of writers to question the status quo. Then we take a trip down to local betting shop Ladbrokes with PR Manager Alex Donohue, to find out how the odds are looking for this year's shortlisted authors. Last but certainly not least, Joe talks to poet, author and former Man Booker Prize winner, Ben Okri who gives his advice to this year's winner and tells us that the size of a book has nothing to do with its value. Join in the conversation @ManBookerPrize with #ManBooker2016 and #FinestFiction
In the penultimate episode of our 2016 series, we look at what makes a winner with Ben Okri. First, Joe Haddow is joined by Catherine Taylor, Deputy Director of English PEN and Anna Fielding, Editor of Emerald Street to discuss former Man Booker winner Margaret Atwood and the duty of writers to question the status quo. Then we take a trip down to local betting shop Ladbrokes with PR Manager Alex Donohue, to find out how the odds are looking for this year's shortlisted authors. Last but certainly not least, Joe talks to poet, author and former Man Booker Prize winner, Ben Okri who gives his advice to this year's winner and tells us that the size of a book has nothing to do with its value. Join in the conversation @ManBookerPrize with #ManBooker2016 and #FinestFiction
June 2016. Paul McMenemy talks to Cat Lucas and Robert Sharp from English PEN about writers at risk. Includes readings of translations of poetry by Ashraf Fayadh and Liu Xia, as well as Andrew McMillan’s poem in response to Ashraf’s work, recorded at the Modern Literature Festival. (00:00:58) - Cat Lucas reads, 'A space in the void' by Ashraf Fayadh (trans. Jonathon Wright) (00:20:54) - Andrew McMillan reads, 'Week of living blasphemously' (00:42:53) - Paul McMenemy reads, 'June 2nd 1989' by Liu Xia (trans. Ming Di and Jennifer Stern) www.englishpen.org Writers in translation: http://worldbookshelf.englishpen.org/ PEN at the Ledbury Festival: https://www.englishpen.org/campaigns/english-pen-at-the-ledbury-poetry-festival-2016/ Modern Literature Festival videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/fowlerpoetry Poetry by Ashraf Fayadh in English: https://arablit.org/?s=Ashraf+Fayadh&x=0&y=0 Poetry by Liu Xia in English: https://pen.org/poetry/five-poems-liu-xia
In the very first of two special Man Booker International Prize 2016 podcasts, we celebrate the 2016 shortlist that takes readers around the globe and to the frontier of fiction. Host Joe Haddow delves into this year's shortlisted books with two members of the judging panel - writer, journalist and the 2016 chair Boyd Tonkin and author Tahmima Anam. Joe also talks to Catherine Taylor, Deputy Director at English PEN and Walter Iuzzolino from Channel 4's Walter Presents about the rise in foreign fiction on our screens and the impact this is having on translated fiction. Then we head to Paris for an exciting event from Shakespeare & Company and hear singer- songwriter Lail Arad's song 'The Onion' which reminds Boyd of whittling down the submissions with his fellow judges. Join in the conversation about the shortlist and let us know your winner predictions @ManBookerPrize #FinestFiction
An evening of bilingual poetry in celebration of the launch of 'Lost Evenings Lost Lives', an anthology of Tamil poetry edited and translated by Lakshmi Holmström and Sascha Ebeling, and winner of a PEN Translates Award from English PEN.
Should Twitter trolls be prosecuted for their horrible views? Should people who tell racist jokes receive threats of violence? These are some of the tricky issues being tackled by London organisation, English Pen, which defends the people's freedom of expression. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
A panel of writers and activists debate offensive language and whether free speech has limits. Featuring panellists: Duleep Allirajah, Sports columnist at Spiked; Jo Glanville, Director of English PEN; Adrian Hart, author of 'That's Racist! How the regulation of speech and thought divides us all'; Jacob Mchangama, Executive director of Justitia and Freedom Rights Project; Peter Bradley, Director of the Speakers' Corner Trust Chaired by David Bowden - Coordinator, UK Battle Satellites; columnist at Spiked.
At a time when Britain's continued membership of both the European Union and the European Convention of Human Rights is the subject of active discussion, Free Word and English PEN have invited five leading writers and thinkers to address - in a series of essays and a discussion - the question of our future relationship with Europe and what might be the new narratives for Europe in an interdependent world. In 2013 President Barroso put out a call to citizens for a "new narrative" for Europe. The idea of Europe - born from the devastation wrought by two world wars and then later strengthened by the reunification of Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall - was, he acknowledged, in crisis. What, he asked, is Europe's role in the world today? How can it become a genuine and effective political body able to rise to the challenges facing European citizens today, engaging in the global issues of our times, protecting commonly held values around democracy, human rights and free expression, and supporting the sciences and the arts to generate new and radical ways of thinking. In launching the call President Barroso highlighted the role of culture and stories; "At a time when culture is perceived as optional rather than essential, It has become difficult to tell each other the simplest of stories, let alone articulate compelling narratives about the values that underpin our society. Yet now is the moment for compelling narratives rather than simple number crunching." Following discussions in Berlin, Brussels, Milan and Warsaw, the debate now comes to London. Join Gabriel Gbadamosi, Xiaolu Guo, A.L.Kennedy, Can Yeginsu and Rosie Goldsmith for a discussion about what Europe means to us.
"The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" is the latest book from the pen of prominent atheist author Philip Pullman. It re-imagines the story of Jesus as the story of two twins - one called Jesus, the other Christ. It is the twin Christ who writes the history of Jesus, turning him into the God-man of the Gospels. Philip Pullman joins Justin Brierley to discuss whether we should believe the Biblical stories of Jesus as historical fact or whether myth and invention are inevitable in the 2000 year old Gospel accounts. Christian journalist Martin Saunders engages Pullman on his view of the Church and his scepticism of the miraculous while Bible Scholar Anthony McRoy challenges Pullman's view that the Gospels are the product of the mythologising and interpretation of its historical core. He particularly takes issue with Pullman's recasting of the resurrection as a fabricated trick to create the foundation of the future church. For "The book of Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ" see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Jesus-Scoundrel-Christ-Myths/dp/1847678254 For a further debate between Philip Pullman and Rt Revd Lord Richard Harries courtesy of English Pen go to http://www.premierradio.org.uk/shows/saturday/unbelievable/features.aspx For Philip Pullman see http://www.philip-pullman.com/ Martin Saunders is a contributor to Christianity Magazine and reviews the book in their June edition http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/ For Anthony McRoy on the historical Jesus see http://www.bethinking.org/bible-jesus/introductory/debunking-channel-4s-conspiracy-theory.htm If you enjoyed this programme you may also enjoy: Unbelievable? 3 Jan 2009 Bart Ehrman & Peter Williams - "Misquoting Jesus: Do we have the original writings of the New Testament?" Unbelievable? 29 Aug 2009 - and the Eyewitnesses part 1 : Richard Bauckham and James Crossley Unbelievable? 6 Sep 2008 Christianity on trial pt 1: Can I trust the Bible? Atheist lawyer Ed Turner vs Theologian Andy Bannister Jon the discussion at the Premier Community http://www.premiercommunity.org.uk/group/unbelievable
Kamila Shamsie chairs a discussion about the gray areas of free expression to mark the launch of a special edition of Guernica, the online magazine of art and politics. The issue was created in partnership with Free Word, in association with English PEN and ARTICLE 19, and supported by Open Society Foundations. On the panel are Michael Archer, editor of Guernica, writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo, and writer Mirza Waheed. Read the edition at www.guernicamag.com, with additional material at www.freewordcentre.com
Continuing our Best of Young British Novelists we hear from Kamila Shamsie. Shamsie is the author of five novels. The first, In the City by the Sea, was published by Granta Books in 1998 and shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Her most recent novel, Burnt Shadows, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and translated into more than twenty languages. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a trustee of English PEN and a member of the Authors Cricket Club. ‘Vipers’, in the issue, is an excerpt from a forthcoming novel. Here she talks to John Freeman about the themes of love and war in her work, moving between her native Karachi and London where she lives now, her choice to become a UK citizen and how her uncle directed the first episode of Doctor Who.
Sonja Lewis was born in a small town in the United States and now lives in London, England with her husband. A former journalist, she also has extended experience in public sector communications with the American Red Cross, The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, Habitat for Humanity International, The Royal National Institute for the Blind and others. The Barrenness is her first novel.She is a member of the Society of Authors and English Pen. The Barrenness: This debut novel intrigues with an element of surprise that keeps the reader captivated until the very last page-a story about whether you can truly be fulfilled as a woman without being a mother. When Georgia peach Lil (pronounced Lille, France) embarks upon a campaign to have a child, she expects her most formidable opponent to be her biological clock. After all she is 39, her childless aunt, Mamie Lee, reminds her. Nonetheless, when Aunt Mamie dies suddenly, Lil finds herself up against a cadre of obstacles, including a battle with her aunt's stepson over the family's land and a relationship with a congressman who doesn't want more children and possibly can't have them anyhow. She also faces a major crisis at her high-powered job. The most unsettling of all her adversaries, however, turns out to be her own mind, filled with conventional notions about this illusive tie in between motherhood and womanhood. An emotionally captivating story, told with skilful pacing that makes it hard to put down. Blog: http://www.sonjalewis.com/
This event took place in association with English PEN, which exists to promote literature and its understanding, uphold writers' freedoms around the world, campaign against the persecution and imprisonment of writers for stating their views, and promote the friendly cooperation of writers and free exchange of ideas. PEN's Writers in Translation programme has, during the past five years, championed over 35 titles by writers from all over the globe, and supports the three speakers here. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Biographer, critic, broadcaster and novelist Victoria Glendinning was born in Sheffield, and educated at Somerville College, Oxford, where she read Modern Languages. She worked as a teacher and social worker before becoming an editorial assistant for the Times Literary Supplement in 1974. President of English PEN, she was awarded a CBE in 1998. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and holds honorary doctorates from the universities of Southampton, Ulster, Dublin and York. Her biographies include Elizabeth Bowen: Portrait of a Writer, 1977; Edith Sitwell: A Unicorn Among Lions (1981), which won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize (for biography) and the Duff Cooper Prize; and Rebecca West: A Life (1987), and Vita: The Life of V. Sackville-West (1983) and Trollope (1992) both of which won the Whitbread Biography Award. We talk here ostensibly about her latest book, Love's Civil War: Elizabeth Bowen and Charles Ritchie: Letters and Diaries 1941- 1973 but in fact, mostly about the nature of biography, the difference between editing letters and writing lives, fabricating dialogue, compiling data, selecting facts; the importance of place, material and familial limitations, life over art, Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, Sissinghurst, and text versus context.
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