Online Lecture #3
Distrupting Translation
The third event in the online lecture series centered the role of translation as a cultural and political intervention. Moderated by series curator Maha El Hissy together with Leila Essa of the University of Utrecht, the event featured translators Thalia Ostendorf and Jon Cho-Polizzi for a discussion of how translation can be used as an implement for critiquing power structures and promoting inclusion.
The guiding question of their conversation was: Who are texts not translated for? Their discussion was set against a backdrop of current debates, including the controversy around the Dutch translation of Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem The Hill We Climb by a non-Black translator. This debate served as a starting point for an investigation into those mechanisms that determine who receives the opportunity to translate a text and how translational practices impact existing power structures.
Thalia Ostendorf, a scholar, publisher, and translator, focuses her work on postcolonial literature and rendering marginalized voices visible. Ostendorf emphasized the importance of collaboration as a translator, explaining how collaborative work not only facilitates new creative impulses, but also builds networks to foster solidarity and exchange. Jon Cho-Polizzi, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, discussed the role of the translator as mediator between author and reader. Cho-Polizzi made observations on the specific challenges facing young translators’ access to the literary market, as well as additional obstacles that must be overcome in order to achieve greater diversity and inclusion in the translation scene.
Their discussion covered a range of central topics, including the interplay between translation and power dynamics. Translating was presented as a complex process—capable of both strengthening and challenging existing power structures. Participants drew particular attention to the responsibility of publishers to actively promote a more diverse pool of translators in order to make marginalized voices audible. Additionally, their discussion focused on the invisibility of marginalized literature: Important works often remain inaccessible to a broader audience due to linguistic and cultural barriers. Translators play a critical role in rendering such ‘invisible archives’ legible and providing access to global discourses.
The conversation continually highlighted the significance of collaborative translation projects. Both speakers emphasized how such projects not only improve the quality of their own work, but also serve to create space for intersectional perspectives to develop. Projects like the collaborative translation of literary essay collections or working in interdisciplinary teams served as examples of transformative approaches. One particularly memorable point from their conversation highlighted how translators mediate not merely between texts, but also between cultural identities: serving as agents for broader cultural transformation.
In addition, the speakers also provided glimpses into their own personal experiences, reflecting on the starting points of their careers as translators, their long roads to recognition, and the challenges that remain in navigating the often elitist world of literary publishing. Both speakers shared their visions for how the translation scene could be made more inclusive, including through targeted programs that facilitate entry into a field dominated by preexisting networks. This event revealed not only the challenges, but also the expansive possibilities of translating in a globalized world, demonstrating how translation as a cultural and political practice can serve both to challenge and to change existing structures.
This event was co-funded through the Dutch Research Council (NWO): VI.Veni.211C.012 led by Dr Leila Essa at Utrecht University.
Thalia Ostendorf, a scholar, publisher, and translator, focuses her work on postcolonial literature and rendering marginalized voices visible. Ostendorf emphasized the importance of collaboration as a translator, explaining how collaborative work not only facilitates new creative impulses, but also builds networks to foster solidarity and exchange. Jon Cho-Polizzi, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, discussed the role of the translator as mediator between author and reader. Cho-Polizzi made observations on the specific challenges facing young translators’ access to the literary market, as well as additional obstacles that must be overcome in order to achieve greater diversity and inclusion in the translation scene.
Their discussion covered a range of central topics, including the interplay between translation and power dynamics. Translating was presented as a complex process—capable of both strengthening and challenging existing power structures. Participants drew particular attention to the responsibility of publishers to actively promote a more diverse pool of translators in order to make marginalized voices audible. Additionally, their discussion focused on the invisibility of marginalized literature: Important works often remain inaccessible to a broader audience due to linguistic and cultural barriers. Translators play a critical role in rendering such ‘invisible archives’ legible and providing access to global discourses.
The conversation continually highlighted the significance of collaborative translation projects. Both speakers emphasized how such projects not only improve the quality of their own work, but also serve to create space for intersectional perspectives to develop. Projects like the collaborative translation of literary essay collections or working in interdisciplinary teams served as examples of transformative approaches. One particularly memorable point from their conversation highlighted how translators mediate not merely between texts, but also between cultural identities: serving as agents for broader cultural transformation.
In addition, the speakers also provided glimpses into their own personal experiences, reflecting on the starting points of their careers as translators, their long roads to recognition, and the challenges that remain in navigating the often elitist world of literary publishing. Both speakers shared their visions for how the translation scene could be made more inclusive, including through targeted programs that facilitate entry into a field dominated by preexisting networks. This event revealed not only the challenges, but also the expansive possibilities of translating in a globalized world, demonstrating how translation as a cultural and political practice can serve both to challenge and to change existing structures.
This event was co-funded through the Dutch Research Council (NWO): VI.Veni.211C.012 led by Dr Leila Essa at Utrecht University.