Upcoming Events

Three translations enter. One translation leaves. City of Asylum is back with its third official Translation Slam! The slam is a thrilling phenomenon in which renowned translators compete to see who can produce the best translation from the same source material. The source material is provided to the translators in advance, but the true battle of wits begins on stage at the slam, when the translators present and defend their work under the scrutiny of the author, the emcee, and the audience. The magic of the slam lies in the truth that literary translation is an art form—not an exact science. Interpretations of a singular text are plentiful, and no two translators will interact with a text in exactly the same way. In this program, City of Asylum Writer-in-Residence and University of Pittsburgh Research Scholar Volodymyr Rafeyenko has supplied a 600-word essay in Ukrainian, which has been shared with literary translators Mark Andryczyk (who has worked on several of Volodymyr’s literary projects), Dominique Hoffman, and Halyna Hryn (who will both take in Volodymyr’s work with fresh eyes). These experts in Ukrainian-to-English translation will prepare their interpretations ahead of time and then go head-to-head live at the slam, revealing their respective translations to the audience and to Volodymyr. At this point, our translators will defend their work under the scrutiny of the author, the audience, and our moderator, Rania Mamoun. Their defenses and discussion will cover differences in word choice, the influence of translation on reader interpretation, their translation process and reasoning, and what’s lost and gained in the art of translation. The slam will be followed by an audience Q&A. English/Ukrainian live interpretation will be provided by Myloslava Zavhorodnia. The event is free to attend both in person and via livestream.