An evening with Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize winner Dr. Jon Cho-Polizzi

Explore the vital role of translation in shaping our understanding of contemporary German literature with Dr. Jon Cho-Polizzi, award-winning literary translator and Assistant Professor of German at the University of Michigan. In conversation with Tamara Loewenstein (Program Curator for Arts & Culture, Goethe-Institut San Francisco), Cho-Polizzi will delve into themes including migration, identity, and multilingualism, all of which permeate Berlin's vibrant post-migrant literary scene.

The discussion will focus on Cho-Polizzi's translations of significant titles including Fatma Aydemir's Djinns, Sharon Dodua Otoo's Ada's Room, Max Czollek's De-Integrate: A Jewish Survival Guide for the 21st Century (which earned him the 2024 Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize), as well as Your Homeland Is Our Nightmare edited by Fatma Aydemir and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah—a collaborative project he organized and co-edited. Cho-Polizzi's translations of German texts amplify marginalized voices, adding to critical dialogues on questions of belonging, which hold equal resonance within myriad English-language spaces. The conversation will offer insights into the translator's process and highlight the importance of translation as a bridge for cultural understanding.

This event is presented by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco in partnership with the Center for the Art of Translation.