The Long Haul: Pacing, Delay, and Sustainability in Translation, Part 1

The Coronavirus pandemic has, for many, restructured our days and our relationship to time. Translators have felt this shift professionally, with delayed publications, Zoom readings, and cancelled talks. But translations have often had unpredictable timelines, even before COVID. In this roundtable we will reflect on timeliness and translation: on daily routines of sitting down to work, on deadlines, publishing, the translation industry, and beyond. We will discuss the unpredictable nature of translation work, but also the moments of sustainability and stability that can emerge, by drawing on resources specific to translation. Format: Organizers will prepare informal comments and share anecdotes with the audience.

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Organizers

Diana Thow’s translations include Elisa Biagini’s Close to the Teeth (Autumn Hill, 2021) and Amelia Rosselli’s Hospital Series (Otis Press/Seismicity Books, 2017). She holds an MFA in translation from the University of Iowa, and a PhD in comparative literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she is a lecturer in Italian Studies. Jamie Richards is an American translator and editor based in Milan. She translates contemporary Italian literature and comics, and is currently working on books by Dolores Prato, Marosia Castaldi, and Viola di Grado.

Participants

Russell Scott Valentino’s latest translation, Miljenko Jergovic’s multi-generational saga Kin, was published by Archipelago Books in June of 2021. He is Founder and Senior Editor at Autumn Hill Books and Professor of Slavic and Comparative Literature at Indiana University Bloomington. His blog, www. russellv.com, regularly features issues of translation and editing. Martha Kosir earned her PhD in Spanish literature from Vanderbilt University. She translates poetry from English into Spanish and from German and Slovenian into Spanish and English. In addition to translating poetry, Dr. Kosir’s research interests focus on translation theory, philosophy of language, and foreign language pedagogy. She works as Professor of Spanish at Gannon University. Patricia de Ribes began translating French scientific articles as a trainee in an Institut Pasteur research laboratory. After earning a doctorate from Université de Paris, she translated patents and science books. She also works as a conference interpreter and has been attending a literary translation workshop in Austin, Texas. Erin Riddle translates literature from Germany and the Americas and has published work in various journals. She is currently translating an Argentine novel. Erin completed a PhD in translation studies and, after over 20 years of teaching, has left academia for a civil service job. Erin will focus on strategies for pursuing a literary translation career in balance with another full-time job. Nathan H. Dize is a reader, researcher, and translator of Haitian literature. Nathan is a founding member of the kwazman vwa collective, which amplifies the work of emerging Caribbean authors, and a member of the Editorial Board of Reading in Translation. He teaches French at Oberlin College.