Polly Barton - Translation Master Class #1
Polly Barton - Translator and Writer
This translation masterclass is an opportunity for anyone with an interest in Japanese-English translation (preexisting or newly sparked) to join us in discussion with translator and writer, Polly Barton. In preparation we ask that you have a go at translating a short passage (less than one page), assigned by the translator, which will form the basis of our discussion. Our hope is to foster a welcoming conversation about the creative challenges and enjoyments of literary translation, and perhaps to even inspire new ventures into its craft
Polly Barton is a translator and writer. She has translated numerous books from the Japanese, including Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda and There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura. Her latest translation, Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai, will be published by New Directions in May 2023. In 2019 she won the Fitzcarraldo Essay Prize for her non-fiction work Fifty Sounds, a personal dictionary of the Japanese language, which came out with Fitzcarraldo Editions in 2021 (Liveright, 2022, in the US).