Presented in partnership with Words Without Borders

Literary translation catapulted to the international stage because of the recent controversy surrounding the Dutch translator for US inaugural poet Amanda Gorman. Questions around identity & the permission to translate zoomed into focus. But is this the wrong question? 
Instead, shouldn't we question the scarcity of Black translators and translators of color?  Or talk about dismantling patterns that make it harder for translators of color to access opportunities? How can City of Asylum and other US literary organizations foster a translation community that reflects the diversity of our world? Join a panel of translators as they share their thoughts on these questions and others.

Languages: Mandarin, Italian, Korean, Portuguese
Format: Live conversation in English; viewed virtually

Bruna Dantas Lobato is a Brazilian writer and translator based in St. Louis. Her translation of Caio Fernando Abreu's story collection Moldy Strawberries received a 2019 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant and is forthcoming from Archipelago Books in September, 2021. Other work has been recognized with fellowships from Yaddo, NYU, the University of Iowa, the American Literary Translators Association, and A Public Space.

Anton Hur is a Korean citizen who has lived in Korea for three decades and counting. He graduated from Korea University where he obtained a Korean law degree. He is a Person of Meritorious Contribution to the State as designated by the Korean Ministry of Veterans' Affairs. As a Korean literary translator, he has translated books by Kyung-Sook Shin, Kang Kyeong-ae, Bora Chung, Sang Young Park, and Hwang Sok-yong.

Paige Aniyah Morris is a writer, educator, and translator from Jersey City, NJ, now based in South Korea. She holds BAs in Ethnic Studies and Literary Arts from Brown University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Newark. The recipient of awards from the Fulbright Program and the American Literary Translators Association, her writing and translations have appeared or are forthcoming in The Georgia Review, The Margins, The Rumpus, Strange Horizons, Nabillera, and more.

Aaron Robertson is a writer, translator, and editor at Spiegel & Grau. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and elsewhere. His first book, The Black Utopians, will be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in 2023.

Jeremy Tiang is a playwright, novelist, and translator from Chinese. www.JeremyTiang.com

Pittsburgh International Literary Festival (LitFest) is a 10-day event that considers themes of migration, identity, and displacement with an emphasis on works in translation. (Full Schedule Here)

LitFest: Representation & Translation