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News and Events

We run events, talks and workshops on all aspects of literary translation. Our events are open to the public and admission is free. Most events are held at 36 Fenian Street, Dublin 2 (two minute walk from Lincoln Gate), unless otherwise stated. Please check this page regularly for updates.

To book a place at any of our events, please email littrans@tcd.ie, or click on the link below.

We are on a break for July and August, but we have some exciting events lined up for the Autumn, starting with Culture Night on 20 September - see below!

Culture Night, Friday, 20 September 2019 Terry Pratchett at the Unseen University/strong For the second year running, we are celebrating Trinity College Dublin’s special relationship with fantasy author, Terry Pratchett, drawing together strands of research. We will walk through our world-leading collection of Pratchett materials and look at how we are using cutting-edge techniques to analyse Pratchett's life and work. This is a drop-in event and there is no need to book a place. Researchers from across College will come together to create an interactive event, celebrating Pratchett’s life, work, and his close connections with Trinity. Work on our huge Pratchett collection covers everything from translation studies and technology to writing for children.
Saturday 21 September 2019 Terry Pratchett Hackathon, 10:00-17:00 The Pratchett Project team at Trinity College Dublin is organising a hackathon to get fans of Terry Pratchett involved in the research they are doing. For this full-day event, you are invited to bring your laptop to Trinity College to get to grips with some quantitative research on the publication history of Pratchett's work around the world. You don't need to be a Pratchett fan to come along. Anybody with an interest in digital humanities will enjoy this. The day will also feature interviews with some special guests who worked closely with Pratchett during his life, and you will have the chance to ask your questions too! Registration is free, but places are limited. So booking is a must. This event is going to be popular, so make sure you get your ticket early! Click here to book
Friday, 18 October 2019 Conference: The Future of Translation in Ireland We are delighted to announce the first annual conference of the Translation Studies Network of Ireland (TSNI). This will take place at Trinity Long Room Hub. The Translation Studies Network of Ireland is a network of scholars from across the island of Ireland who have an interest in the study of translation. The call for papers is now closed. More information about the conference will be posted closer to the time. In the meantime, if you have questions, please email littrans@tcd.ie
Archive of recent events
Tuesday 18 June 2019 On Translating Dante A roundtable with Prof. Robin Kirkpatrick (University of Cambridge) Prof. Cormac Ó Cuilleanáin and Prof. Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (both of Trinity College Dublin). Robin Kirkpatrick is Professor of Italian and English Literature at the University of Cambridge and he has written a number of books on Dante and on the Renaissance. His verse translation of the Commedia with notes and commentary was published by Penguin Classics in 2006-7. We were delighted to host this event which was part of the first of threeDante Summer Schoolswhich will run in June 2019, June 2020 and June 2021. This year's theme wasDante’s Inferno: The Medieval Text and its Afterlife.
Tuesday 18 June 2019, Book Club My Cat Yugoslavia, by Pajtim Statovci Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston This is the last book club meeting until September. For more information, click here
On 23 and 24 May 2019 we hosted the following events organised by Literature Ireland, as part of the International Dublin Literature Festival
Friday 24 May 1:30pm at the Centre Europe Meets South America: Juan Gabriel Vásquez & Samanta Schweblin Some political realities seem harder than others to communicate to those who have no direct experience of them. Juan Gabriel Vásquez and Samanta Schweblin explored with Daniel Hahn the role of translation in communicating such different realities to the reader.
Friday, 24 May 4pm at the Centre Sea Chests from across the World, or a Globalised Literary Landscape? Literature in translation introduces a wide variety of new writers into different cultures. At a time when many fear the negative effects of globalisation, can literature from other corners of the world bring fresh perspectives? Writers Alejandro Zambra and Ariana Harwicz, publisher Sam McDowell (Charco Press) and Carolina Orloff, with Jean-Philippe Imbert.
Friday, 24 May 5:30pm at the Centre East–West Cultural Exchange: Joy or Scourge? Japanese writing is gaining in international profile, and many European authors are gaining a following in Japan. Translator Polly Barton, translator-in-residence Hiroko Mikami and writer Tomoka Shibasaki discussed the barriers and opportunities for cultural exchange with James Hadley.
Thursday 23 May, 2pm Trinity Long Room Hub Ann Goldstein in Conversation with Sinéad Mac Aodha Ann Goldstein is one of the most celebrated literary translators of our time, with translations ranging from the work of Primo Levi to Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. She discussed her role as a translator of Italian language and culture, in conversation with Sinéad Mac Aodha of Literature Ireland. International Dublin Literature Festival
Thursday 23 May, 4pm Trinity Long Room Hub Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin: Poetry and Translation Professor Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin and Ireland Chair of Poetry, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, in conversation with Peter Sirr, explored the importance of poetry in translation today. Why do poets choose to translate each other? Is their creative work then influenced by the act of translation?
Thursday 23 May 5:30pm at the Centre Daniel Hahn on translating Julián Fuks Where facts and fiction collide, how does a translator respect both the author and the reader? Can the translator bridge the cultural divide between author and reader? Writer, editor and translator Daniel Hahn considered these and other questions.
Tuesday 21 May, 2019 Book Club: The Last Children of Tokyo, by Yoko Tawada. Translated from Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani. Our book club this month was hosted by our translator-in-residence, Prof Hiroko Mikami.
Monday 20 May 2019 The Reception of Bernard Shaw's Plays in Brazil Dr Rosalie Rahal Haddad is an associate researcher for the William Butler Yeats Chair of Irish Studies at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. She is an honorary adviser and former vice-president of the Associação Brasileira de Estudos Irlandeses. Dr Haddad has written extensively on the plays of George Bernard Shaw and other Irish playwrights. This evening, she talked about the reception of Shaw's plays in Brazil and referenced her own production of Mrs Warren’s Profession, performed in São Paulo in 2018. Click here to watch an introduction by Prof. Michael Cronin to this event, and click here to watch the full recording.
Wednesday 15 May 2019 Poetry Spring Festival of Lithuania: an evening of contemporary Lithuanian and Irish poetry The Lithuanian community in Ireland and the Lithuanian Writer‘s Union is held an Irish-Lithuanian poetry reading to mark the Poetry Spring Festival of Lithuania. Award winning Irish poet, novelist and translator, Peter Sirr, Lithuanian poet and translator, Marius Burokas (Burokas has translated Peter Sirr’s poetry into Lithuanian), and Lithuanian poet, Giedrė Kazlauskaitė, who is one of the leading female voices in contemporary Lithuanian poetry, read from and discussed their work at the Centre. This event celebrated the work of two important literary translators in contemporary Europe and gave the Irish audience a rare opportunity to hear some of the best contemporary Lithuanian poetry in English translation. This event was kindly sponsored by the Embassy of Lithuania in Dublin and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, Global Lithuania Programme.
Tuesday 7 May 2019 A Celebration of Czech literature before and after 1989 Seminar-workshop to consider the significance of literary translation in Czechoslovakia before and after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Our two guest speakers – accomplished Czech translators Tomáš Vrba and Alice Hyrmanová McElveen – discussed the role translators played in preserving cultural treasures and maintaining the continuity of national literatures. In the 1980s, Tomáš was active in samizdat where, for a time, he co-operated with Václav Havel and his team. Alice lived in exile in England and, among other things, translated prohibited Czech authors whose texts had been smuggled abroad. Their most recent translations include, respectively: Madeleine Albright’s memoir Prague Winter (as Pražská zima, 2018), and Sara Baume’s novel Spill Simmer Falter Wither (as Jasno lepo podstín zhyna, 2016). The second part of our evening comprised a hands-on examination of some specific texts. Our guest speakers will demonstrate what impact the change from communist regime to democracy, which took place almost exactly thirty years ago, has had on their work. This event was kindly supported by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Dublin.
Tuesday, 16 April 2019 Book Club, 6:30 pm. *Small Country* by Gaël Faye, translated from French by Sarah Ardizzone. Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in the comfortable expat neighbourhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister Ana, is close to paradise. But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their peaceful existence will shatter when Burundi, and neighbouring Rwanda, are brutally hit by civil war and genocide.
Friday, 12 April 2019 Translating Japanese Poetry Join us to launch the English translation of Sky Navigation Homeward by Japanese poet, Mikiro Sasaki, published by Daedalus Press. The author, one of his translators, Dr Mitsuko Ohno, and professor of Irish literature and translation, Nobuaki Tochigi, will present a selection of poems in Japanese and in English, and discuss the particular issues relating to translating Japanese poetry into English.
Thursday, 11 April 2019 Finnegans Wake at 80, Translation Roundtable, 6-8pm at Trinity Long Room Hub *Finnegans Wake* stands at the limit of translation: written in a Babelian mishmash of eighty languages, it poses practical and theoretical problems for any translator. Indeed, it may even be seen to be about translation. Join us for a roundtable to discuss these issues with translators Congrong Dai (Chinese), Erik Bindervoet (Dutch), and Enrico Terrinoni (Italian). This event is part of the Finnegans Wake 80 conference at Trinity Long Room Hub from 11–13 April.
Monday, 8 April 2019 Narratives of the Spanish Civil War and the Dictatorship, 6pm Languages play a crucial role in war, conflict and peacemaking. Join editors Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez and Alicia Castillo Villanueva for the launch of this book which seeks to establish a new dialogue between translation, conflict and memory studies, focusing on fictional texts, reports from war zones and audiovisual representations of the Spanish civil war and the Franco dictatorship.
Thursday, 4 April 2019 Irish and Catalan poetry reading and book launch, 6pm Irish poet Maurice Scully and Catalan poet Jordi Valls Pozo (translated by Raoul Izzard) will be at the Centre to discuss their collection of poems, published by HardPressed Poetry. Scully and Valls Pozo will read from their work, and there will be time for conversation with them and their editor, poet Catherine Walsh.
Thursday, 28 March 2019 Priscila Ribeiro, a recent graduate of our MPhil in Literary Translation, will talk about her journey from student life to her current work in computer game translation at Playrix, one of the leading mobile game developers in the world. She will discuss what Playrix does and what her role is in the company, together with how her perspective on translation has developed and deepened thanks to her professional experience. This talk will be very useful for current students of translation studies and those who are hoping to work in the translation industry.
Monday, 25 March 2019 Launch of Volume 7, Issue 2 of TJolt, the student-run Trinity Journal of Literary Translation. All welcome.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019 Book Club *War and Turpentine* by Stefan Hertmans, translated from Dutch by David McKay. The story of Urbain Martien lies in two notebooks left behind after his death. Urbain's grandson, the writer, retells his grandfather's story, the notebooks providing a key to the locked chambers of Urbain's memory. But who was Urbain? The son of a lowly church painter in Ghent? The young man who narrowly escaped death in an iron foundry? The decorated First World War soldier? Or the man married to his true love's sister, haunted by the war and his interrupted dreams of life as an artist? Longlisted for the International Man Booker Prize, Stefan Hertmans is an internationally acclaimed Flemish writer. David McKay was awarded the Vondel Translation Prize for this translation.
Tuesday, 5 March 2019, Graduate Memorial Building The Poetry of Alexander Pushkin To mark the 220th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, a poetry evening will be hosted by leading translator and poet, Julian Henry Lowenfeld. Lowenfeld will be reading Pushkin’s poems in English and Russian and he will be joined by harpist Arawelle. This event will take place at the Graduates’ Memorial Building (GMB) at Trinity College and has been organised by the Russian Society and Russian Bridge for the annual Festival of Russian Culture in Dublin.
Thursday, 21 February 2019 Literature Ireland will welcome Little Island Books to the Centre for the launch of All Better! - a beautifully illustrated collection of rhymes about being under the weather and on the mend for age 4+. Originally written by Latvian poet Inese Zandere, it has been translated and reimagined for the Irish reader by poet Catherine Ann Cullen. Little Island Books is an award-winning Irish publisher that specialises in publishing Irish writers and books in translation. For more information about this event, please contact info@literatureireland.com
Tuesday, 19 February 2019: Book Club *Among the Lost* by Emiliano Monge, translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne Love in a time of people-trafficking: Among the Lost takes place in the desolate mesas of Mexico and Central America. In these wastelands between the sierra and the jungle, under an all-seeing, unforgiving sun, a single day unfolds. People are trafficked and brutalised, illegal migrants are cheated of their money, their dreams, their very names, even as countless others scrabble to cross the border, trying to reach the place they call El Paraíso. Damaged lovers Epitafio and Estela are both involved in the human trafficking industry of which they were once victims.
Monday, 18 February 2019 The Trinity Translation PhD: Guide to Getting Started Trinity College Dublin has outstanding resources for PhD candidates in Translation Studies, including expertise in a wide range of languages and cultural contexts, a world-class library, and the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation with its associated connections and opportunities. Moreover, Trinity is the only university in Ireland that offers practice-based translation PhDs. However, a PhD is unlike any other degree, and applying for one is a more involved process than applying for other category of degree. Many candidates are unsure where to start, and what to expect, both before and during the degree. This session will present the process of applying for a PhD in Translation Studies at Trinity from start to finish, and will be followed by a Q&A session. It will guide applicants through writing proposals, the issue of funding, and locating and approaching supervisors. It will be of most benefit to people who have a master's degree in a translation-based subject or are studying for one, and are interested in undertaking a PhD in the field. Book your place here.
Tuesday, 12 February 2019 On Georgian Fiction: An Interview with Zurab Karumidze Join us for an evening with renowned Georgian novelist and cultural critic Zurab Karumidze, in conversation with founder and director of Dalkey Archive Press, John O’Brien, and co-hosted by the Embassy of Georgia. Karumidze’s novel Dagny, or A Love Feast was written in English with the objective of bringing Georgia and the rest of the world closer. Following the real-life Norwegian poet and dramatist Dagny Juel and her trials as the obsessional subject of historical characters such as Edvard Munch and August Strindberg, the novel tackles subjects as diverse as Shamanic art, Gnosticism, the Bach fugue and modernist aesthetics, muddling historical fact with subversive fiction along the way. This interview will be followed by a Q&A and reception. Book your place here.
Thursday, 7 February 2019 Launch of the Irish translation of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe We welcome translator Irene Duffy Lynch to the Centre to discuss her translation of Things Fall Apart into Irish. Irene will be joined by Alan Titley, Emeritus Professor of Modern Irish at University College Cork, and Dr Uzoma E. Emenike, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Ireland. Since its publication in 1958, Things Fall Apart has sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into over 50 languages. The Irish translation, Titeann Rudaí as a Chéile has just been published by Coiscéim. This event is kindly sponsored by the Embassy of Nigeria. PLEASE NOTE, THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED. Enquiries to littrans@tcd.ie
Tuesday, 5 February Translation Student to Translation Professional Isabel Puente Lozano, a recent graduate of our MPhil in Literary Translation, will share her journey from student life to her current post as vendor manager at STAR Translation Services. This talk will be useful for current students of translation studies who are hoping to work in the translation industry.
Monday, 28 January 2019 Trinity Translation Studies Network: reading group Colleagues in College who have an academic interest in the study of translation are invited to join a new reading group, moderated by our Director, Prof Michael Cronin. The group will meet fortnightly on Mondays from 17:00-18:30 (during term) to discuss aspects of translation theory. The aim of the network is to provide a supportive environment for colleagues interested in pursuing research topics in translation studies. For more information, please email littrans@tcd.ie
Tuesday, 15 January 2019 Our first book of the year will be Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk (Man Booker International Prizewinner). Translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. In this subversive, entertaining novel set in a remote Polish village, Janina Duszejko, an eccentric woman in her sixties, recounts the events surrounding the disappearance of her two dogs. She is reclusive, preferring the company of animals to people; she’s unconventional, believing in the stars; and she is fond of the poetry of William Blake, from whose work the title of the book is taken. When members of a local hunting club are found murdered, Janina becomes involved in the investigation. This existential thriller caused political uproar in Tokarczuk’s native Poland. "It will make you want to read everything that Tokarczuk has written."— Nilanjana Roy, The Financial Times.
December 2018
Tuesday, 18 December 2018 Book Club: The Chilli Bean Paste Clan by Yan Ge, translated from Chinese by Nicky Harman. Set in a fictional town in Sichuan, China, this is the story of the Duan-Xue family, owners of a lucrative chilli bean paste factory, and their formidable matriarch, ‘Gran’, who is about to celebrate her 80th birthday. As the date approaches, her middle-aged children get together to arrange a party. Almost immediately, old resentments flare up and sibling rivalries surface. Skeletons come out of the closet and events take an unexpected turn on the day itself, when secrets from everyone’s past are revealed, including a final shock from the old matriarch herself. Writer Yan Ge lived in Dublin for many years. She is on the Judging panel of the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award. Nicky Harman is a leading translator of Chinese literature into English.
November 2018
Friday, 23 November 2018 *Mario Praz’s Legacy: On Comparative Literature Today* Trinity Long Room Hub, 9:30-5:30pm A day long conference to commemorate the cultural legacy of Mario Praz's work in contemporary comparative studies. We are delighted to support this event being organised by our colleagues from the Department of Italian.
Tuesday, 20 November 2018 Book Club: Petite Fleur by Iosi Havilio, translated from Spanish by Lorna Scott Fox Our book this month – Petite Fleur – was translated from Spanish by Lorna Scott Fox. When José's fireworks factory job ends suddenly and his wife Laura returns to work, José surprises himself by becoming an empathetic stay-at-home Dad and proficient home-maker. Recovering from his initial apathy, he makes friends with his jazz-loving neighbour ... but José’s new talents take a gruesome and violent turn. Petite Fleur by cult Argentinian writer, Iosi Havilio, is written as a single, hypnotic paragraph.
Wednesday, 14 November 2018 Taiwan in Poetry, Poetry in Taiwan The winners of the prestigious 2018 John Dryden Translation Competition, translators Colin Bramwell and Wen-Chi Li will be giving a talk at the Centre. Li and Bramwell were awarded first prize for their translation of Selections from the Poetry of Yang Mu from Chinese. Their talk, a combination of literary history and poetry reading, aims to introduce Western readers to four Taiwanese poets: Yang Mu, Chen Li, Hsia Yu and Ching Hsiang Hai. We will hear the work of these poets in their original language and in translation. Booking essential - please click here.
Monday, 12 November 2018 Award winning Norwegian writer Edy Poppy will be at the Centre to discuss her novel, Anatomy. Monotony. This semi-autobiographical novel is about a young woman from a small Norwegian town, her French husband and their experiment with an open marriage. The book was first published in 2005, and its translation into English by May-Brit Akerholt has just been published by Dalkey Archive Press. Join the discussion about this controversial novel and the translations of its covers and titles into other languages. For tickets, please click here.
also on Monday, 12 November 2018 War, the latest issue of the Trinity Journal of Literary Translation, will be launched upstairs in Doyles Pub, 9 College Green, Dublin 2, from 8-10pm. All welcome. For more information, contact trinityjolt@gmail.com