“All of France now, for me, is simply a hotel, or hospital, or bridge between two mountains, a station here that I’m waiting in for a train going to my country over there. I’m waiting to reclaim my life. To return the duplicated Sara to the original one. I’m here waiting for my feet to slip at every French moment, to take me to Aleppo.”
“This focused residency will provide an integral stage of refinement, allowing translators to dialogue with the writers about text-specific questions. It will also serve as an essential community-builder for English-language translators who are working to increase the amount of international literature available to English-language readers.”
“The last thing I need is that people read me because my book is forbidden. I need people to read it because they want to read it.”
“We primarily are looking for translations from Arabic to English, but also accept translations from English to Arabic. Please provide both versions when submitting.”
Your ‘burning patience’ extinguished now
you sneak back like daylight, slipping through alleyways
through front doors of houses, left ajar
closed at night, a dwelling goes down, like a rock.
“I’m as surprised as you are! There’s more interest in Vietnamese matters in the States now, so perhaps in a generation or so, Americans might be more willing to look at Iraq away from the blunders of the past.”
“There were many stories circulating in our town about Hasson, his parents, and how they ended up in the far South, but none were ever confirmed. Some said his dad met his mom in a Baha’i temple in Iran and then came to our town seeking refuge and a peaceful life, keeping their faith a secret. Others said his mom was an Armenian from the North who fell in love with Hasson’s father.”
The central theme of “K.” is much stronger than most literature coming from the Gulf.
Each of the 13 winning translators will receive $2,800 help them finish their project.
