Free Word

Already internationally acclaimed, Han Kang is considered one of the most important writers from Korea. For her new novel, 'Human Acts', Han points her penetrating literary talents to South Korea's difficult and repressed recent past. Starting with the violent suppression of the 1980s student uprisings in Gwangju, the book follows the survivors as they live with the trauma through the decades and the unending personal and political effect it had on the nation.

Psychoanalyst and writer, Susie Orbach, discussed 'Human Acts' with Han, talking about this novel and how Han explores trauma, reconciliation and the soul of a country. They were also joined by Han's translator, Deborah Smith.

Wanderlust: Great Literature from Around the World is a monthly event series at Free Word.

To explore the Wanderlust events we’ve held so far and read about (and around) some of the books we’ve featured, click here: https://www.freewordcentre.com/explore/projects/wanderlust

Mikhail Bulgakov’s 'The Master and Margarita' is an essential work of twentieth-century Russian literature, and the writer's persecution, along with his personal and artistic struggles with the Soviet authorities, is documented in his 'Diaries and Letters', which offer a captivating portrayal of a prodigiously talented writer who feels his talent going to waste.

Two renowned translators of Bulgakov's work; Hugh Aplin, translator of 'The Master and Margarita', and Roger Cockrell, translator of Bulgakov’s 'Diaries and Selected Letters', discussed the publishing history of Bulgakov’s work, the challenges of translating his unique prose and issues of freedom of expression in the context of these texts. Publisher Alessandro Gallenzi, who has published much of Bulgakov’s bibliography, chaired the discussion.

Wanderlust: Great Literature from Around the World is a monthly event series at Free Word.

To explore the Wanderlust events we’ve held so far and read about (and around) some of the books we’ve featured, click here: https://www.freewordcentre.com/explore/projects/wanderlust

Booksellers play a vital role in getting translated books into the hands of readers. But how do they encourage readers to take a chance on a foreign author? With so few international authors available for events, what other marketing techniques can booksellers employ to build a buzz around a book? Do we ask too much of our booksellers when it comes to promoting translated literature? Jonathan Ruppin, Web Editor at Foyles and Sheila O’Reilly, Owner of Dulwich Books, discussed the role of translators in frontline bookselling and marketing, and suggested ways that translators can get more actively involved. This event was chaired by Miriam Robinson, Marketing and Events Consultant and former Head of Marketing at Foyles.

From Grexit to Troika, the ongoing crisis in Greece has spawned a whole new vocabulary and dominated newspaper headlines for over five years. Now, a powerful and timely anthology offers a poetic reply to the social and economic disaster which still threatens to overturn the whole European project.

Times of protest and political upheaval have always inspired poets and artists; and beyond the headlines, elections and debt agreements, a powerful Greek literary movement has been stirring. 'Futures: Poetry of the Greek Crisis' introduces a new generation of writers inspired to highlight the plight of a country in a continual state of emergency.

Theodoros Chiotis, Editor of this powerful collection, exciting new voices in Greek poetry and special guests read and discussed the anthology at Free Word Centre, London's international centre for literature, literacy and free speech. The event was chaired by Maria Margaronis.

This event took place at Free Word Centre on Friday 13 November 2015.

What if government and corporate elites have given up on stopping climate change and prefer to try to manage its consequences instead? In the weeks running up to the major UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21), this event examined issues raised by a new book, 'The Secure and the Dispossessed: How the Military and Corporations are Shaping a Climate-Changed World' (Transnational Institute). The book unveils a new climate security agenda in which dystopian preparations by the powerful are already fuelling militarised security responses to the unfolding climate crisis. But it also puts forward and tells the stories of the inspiring alternatives that promise a just transition to a climate-changed world.

Speakers at this event included:

Ryvka Barnard, Senior Campaigns Officer for Militarism and Security at War on Want

Nick Buxton, Communications Manager for Transnational Institute (TNI)

Ben Hayes, a TNI fellow who has worked for the civil liberties organisation Statewatch since 1996

Jo Ram, co-founder of Community Reinvest, an organisation that works with the fossil fuel divestment movement to demystify finance and enable reinvestment of divested funds into a democratic and just energy system

Asad Rehman, co-ordinator of Friends of the Earth's international climate work

This event took place at Free Word Centre on Wednesday 25 November 2015.

Plays go through many transformations on the way from a writer’s pen to the final performance, and for translated plays the journey of the text is often even more complex. Experienced theatre translator Sasha Dugdale and Chris Campbell, Literary Manager at the Royal Court, tracked the movement of a play text as it passed through the hands of a translator, writer, dramaturg, director and finally the actors, examining what a piece can gain through this process, and what gets left behind.

2015 FOUND IN TRANSLATION AWARD CEREMONY

Polish Book Institute, Polish Cultural Institute London, and Polish Cultural Institute New York were delighted to present Ursula Phillips with the 2015 Found in Translation Award for her translation of Choucas by Zofia Nalkowska (2014, Northern Illinois University Press). Ursula Phillips is a translator of both literary and academic works and a writer on Polish literature. Her translations highlight the role of literature written by women. Previous recipients: Philip Boehm, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (twice), Bill Johnston, Danuta Borchardt, Clare Cavanagh, Stanislaw Baranczak and Joanna Trzeciak.

Subtitling has often been seen as a niche pursuit in the field of translation. But in our increasingly digitised world of video, sound and games, AV or multimedia translation is offering new professional opportunities for translators. Dr Miguel Bernal-Merino, lecturer in Audiovisual Translation at the University of Roehampton and an expert in games localisation, and Dr Jorge Díaz-Cintas, Director of the Centre for Translation Studies at UCL, offered an introduction to this growing area, examining

some of the theory and particular challenges of translation for the screen. This event was chaired by Samantha Schnee, Founding Editor and Chair of Words Without Borders.

‘Translator-speak’: a translation that sounds awkward. But does ‘translator-speak’ really indicate literary and cultural differences that should be respected by editors? Or do editors have the right - even the duty - to rewrite an awkward-sounding translation? Meike Ziervogel, Publisher at

Peirene Press, Laura Barber, Editorial Director at Granta, and translator Shaun Whiteside, debated the limits of editing using a selection of anonymised excerpts from translated and original English novels. This event was chaired by Nicky Harman.

The digital age has empowered readers like never before. No longer passive recipients of a finished end product, many readers are now playing an active role in the selection, commissioning - even

the editing - of translated books into English. Publishers are working harder to create engaged and vibrant reading communities, and readers’ groups are offering their own verdicts on prize lists. Anna Jean Hughes, Founder and Editorial Director at The Pigeonhole; Will Rycroft, Community Manager at Vintage; and Gaby Wood, Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, examined this changing power dynamic and the shifting role of the reader, and asked how it is affecting translated literature in the UK. The panel was chaired by journalist and broadcaster Alex Clark.

Gabriela Babnik’s novel, 'Dry Season' (translated by Rawley Grau), breaks the mould of what we usually expect from a writer from a small, Central European nation. Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature in 2013, 'Dry Season' offers a truly global perspective as it explores themes of racism, the role of women in modern society, and the loneliness of the human condition.

The author and the translator joined in conversation at Free Word Centre, with chair Ranka Primorac, to focus on both the themes and the language of the book, as well as the intricacies of translating from a Slavic language to English and writing on the world stage from the perspective of a 'small language'.

Wanderlust: Great Literature from Around the World is a monthly event series at Free Word.

To explore the Wanderlust events we’ve held so far and read about (and around) some of the books we’ve featured, click here: https://www.freewordcentre.com/explore/projects/wanderlust