Book Fair, Readers’ Club, Asymptote

2023-03-29 ☼ blog

Three translation-related things have recently happened or will be happening soon. Here they are!

Thing 1

A few weeks ago, I dropped by the Beijing Book Fair to talk about Chinese literature in translation on a panel alongside 鲁敏 Lu Min, 徐则臣 Xu Zechen, and 施战军 Shi Zhanjun. We discussed the kind of titles that have been received well by English-reading audiences; I mentioned the importance of independent presses, and the increasing visibility (and credibility) of translators.

Thing 2

This Friday, I’ll be talking to Angus Stewart (host of the Translated Chinese Fiction Podcast) about my translation of Cherries on the Pomegranate Tree, as part of the Chinese Literature Readers’ Club. The event is free, on Zoom, and at midnight, China time. It’s past my bedtime; I may fall asleep.

Thing 3

And finally: I contributed a translation (and justification) of a (very) short extract from 林棹 Lin Zhao’s debut novel《流溪》for the “Principle of Decision” series at Asymptote. Three other translators (Liuyu Ivy Chen，Na Zhong，and Mike Fu) offered their version of the same text. It was discussions like this that first got me interested in translating Chinese literature, and it’s always fascinating to get a glimpse into the thought processes of other translators.