Bridging the Gap – Stories and histories in translation

Wednesday, May 13 at 14:30 saw the third Open University-chaired panel with a group of writers, translators and publishers in connection with European Literature Night. The event took place in the main auditorium in the British Library Conference Centre and explored aspects of the writing and translation process in relation to the construction of particular kinds of world and their translation and transformation across languages and cultures. It also addressed the role of independent publishers and small presses in facilitating and framing access to literature in translation. In conversation with Evald Flisar (Slovenia), Susan Curtis-Kojakovic of Istros Books, Wioletta Greg (Poland) and translator from Polish into English Marek Kazmierski, the following topics were discussed:

• The translation of landscapes of the real and the imagined
• Writers as curators of the past
• The role of various agents and gatekeepers in the creation of literary culture
• The role of translation in bridging different worlds and different realities
• The migration of texts via translation
• The creativity of the translator
• The effects and politics of translation

The session was well attended and there were questions and comments from the audience.

Fiona J. Doloughan

May 18, 2015.