Ten Questions for José Olivarez and David Ruano González
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This week’s installment of Ten Questions features José Olivarez and David Ruano González, the author and the translator of Promises of Gold / Promesas de oro.
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This week’s installment of Ten Questions features José Olivarez and David Ruano González, the author and the translator of Promises of Gold / Promesas de oro.
The deadline is approaching for the inaugural Mo Habib Translation Prize in Persian Literature, collaboratively established by the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at University of Washington, the Mo Habib Memorial Foundation, and Deep Vellum Publishing. A $10,000 prize and publication by Deep Vellum will be awarded for a Persian novel or short story collection translated into English. Submissions of modern works of fiction from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Iran, and their diaspora are eligible. $2,000 will be given when the winner is announced in July, and the remaining $8,000 will be given once the winning translation is submitted in full by May 2024.
Using only the online submission system, submit a sample of no more than 20 pages of the proposed translation, in both the original language and in English, as well as a curriculum vitae of up to three pages, a cover letter, and proof of copyrights (if applicable) by March 1. There is no entry fee. Anna Learn, Shelley Fairweather-Vega, and Siamak Vossoughi will judge. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Named after Mohammad Habib, a structural engineer and project manager originally from Tehran who attended the University of Washington, the prize “seeks to expand the readership of Persian literature in English, beyond academic audiences.” Prize partner Deep Vellum is a literary nonprofit in Dallas that aims to publish literature that “fosters cross-cultural dialogue, breaks down barriers between communities, and promotes empathy.” As of 2020, approximately half of their titles were international works. Named after Mohammad Habib, a structural engineer and project manager originally from Tehran who attended the University of Washington, the prize “seeks to expand the readership of Persian literature in English, beyond academic audiences.” Prize partner Deep Vellum is a literary nonprofit in Dallas that aims to publish literature that “fosters cross-cultural dialogue, breaks down barriers between communities, and promotes empathy.” As of 2020, approximately half of their titles were international works.
Watch this 2018 reading and conversation with Nobel Prize–winning author Annie Ernaux celebrating the English publication of her book The Years, along with translator Alison L. Strayer and Seven Stories Press publisher Dan Simon at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris, France.
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan and Decade of the Brain by Janine Joseph.
The La Baldi Residency, sponsored by Cultivate, offers two-week and one-month residencies from April through October to poets, fiction writers, creative nonfiction writers, and translators, in Montegiovi, Italy. Residents stay in private lodging with a fully equipped kitchen and outside sitting area. Individual writers and collaborative teams may apply.
La Baldi Residency, 15504 Moravia Court, Derwood, MD 20855. Susan Main, Cultivate Director.
In this video, finalists for the 2022 National Book Award in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translated literature, and young people’s literature read excerpts from their honored works. The event, hosted by writer Saraciea J. Fennell, is presented in partnership with the National Book Foundation and the NYU Creative Writing Program.
Black Lawrence Press’s Immigrant Writing Series was launched in response to a lack of book-publication options for immigrant writers, whose unique perspectives might not resonate with nonimmigrant editors.
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Extinction Theory by Kien Lam and Liberation Day by George Saunders.
“Black of pure tint, I cry and laugh / the vibration of being a black statue; / a chunk of night, in which my white / teeth are lightning.” In this video for the Favorite Poem Project, bilingual special education teacher Glaisma Pérez-Silva reads Julia de Burgos’s poem “Ay, Ay, Ay, de la Grifa Negra,” translated from the Spanish by Jack Agüeros.
“I spent most of my life trying to blend in. / Try to fade into the background. / Try not to be noticed.” Abby Orbeta reads their poem “Chameleon” (“Hunyango”), which has been translated into Filipino, for this Ours Poetica video, sponsored by Complexly and the Poetry Foundation.