An Overview of 2021 Releases: 30+ Arabic Books in English Translation
A preview of literary works of Arabic forthcoming in English translation in 2021.
On Translation
A Search for Beauty and Appreciation: Kay Heikkinen on Translating ‘Velvet’
” I will never look at rain the same way I used to; the author talks about it as if it were a living being with a will, attacking the earth, and how it has an effect on the streets.”
Introducing ‘The Mu`allaqat for Millennials’
“Aiming to make the mu`allaqat known to new readers, the project gathers a team of eight commentators and translators.”
Aida Bamia on Why ‘My First and Only Love’ Was Such An Emotional Translation Experience
” This novel was the most emotional for me to translate, as it also marked the end of a comfortable childhood for me and my siblings, and the beginning of a life in exile.”
‘Tart Bites’ Podcast on ArabicEnglish Translation Launches Today
“I’ve always wanted to start a conversation around translation, from the very beginning of my career.”
Translator Sampsa Peltonen on Why Hassan Blasim’s ‘God99’ Is Like Parkour
“The arselongness of the text made me think about how the traceurs keep plunging forwards all the time, almost like just past their tipping point, foolhardily hopping over things, dashing and ploughing into walls. Parkour is also often practised in urban places that smell of piss and fast-food and where you need to watch out you don’t step on broken glass or used condoms.”
Finding a Voice in English for ‘My Heart Became a Bomb’
“Too frequently, I think, translators give in to the idea that a foreign text needs to retain a lot of that foreignness—this is Venuti’s foreignizing versus domesticating debate.”
Working on ‘Warda’: ‘Challenging in all the Ways a Translation Project Could Be’
“Like I say, it’s fleeting, but I could write a whole memoir, I think, just about getting that sentence translated.”
Friday Finds: Emma Ramadan on Translating Meryem Alaoui’s ‘Straight From the Horse’s Mouth’
The Asymptote Book Club’s September 2020 selection was Emma Ramadan’s translation of Meryem Alaoui’s Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: As part of the book-club materials, Asymptote editor Allison Braden talked […]