Indian Poets Come to Exchange Words in Wales

Poetry from India will find a new Welsh voice later this month at the start of a unique collaboration between Indian and Welsh poets.

The British Council’s Writers’ Chain project brings together eight renowned poets  - four working in Welsh and four in a range of Indian languages, for an exciting scheme organised by Wales Literature Exchange.

Welsh poets Menna Elfyn, Eurig Salisbury, Hywel Griffiths, Karen Owen will spend a week collaborating with four Indian poets:  the Keralan literary legend K. Satchidanandan, the radical and outspoken young poet Meena Kandasamy, Mumbai-based Bengali poet Sampurna Chattarji and Robin Ngangom - a poet and editor from North East India.

Between June 24th – 30th, 2011 the poets will be based at Tŷ Newydd, working on translations that will see Welsh poetry travel into Bengali, Malayalam, Manipuri and Tamil. In turn the Welsh writers will introduce for the first time ever a colourful seam of contemporary Indian poetry into the Welsh language and a new audience here in Wales.

The public will also get the chance to hear from the visiting poets at special events during the week.
In Bangor an evening reading will be held at the Blue Sky Cafe on Sunday 26th June where the poets will perform their work in progress and talk about the literary alchemy of translation.

On Wednesday 29th June, poetry lovers in Aberystwyth will be able to take part in a dinner in which they can enjoy an innovative performance of poetry, movement and language by the Indian and Welsh poets and introduced by poet and writer, Nigel Jenkins, while enjoying the food at the renowned Ultracomida.

This project marks a growing relationship between Indian and Welsh literature with many contemporary Welsh works translated in India in a variety of languages, thanks to the bridge-building work done by the Wales Literature Exchange.

This event is part of the British Council’s Writers’ Chain project, organised by Wales Literature Exchange as part of Translators' House Wales's programme of activity, in partnership with Literature Across Frontiers, Wales Arts International and British Council Wales, with the generous support of the Welsh Government and Literature Wales.

Sioned Puw Rowlands, Director of Wales Literature Exchange says:
“The Writers’ Chain project fosters relationships between the Welsh and Indian literary scene. We have already made progress with the forthcoming release this autumn at the Hay festival in Kerala of three anthologies of Welsh short fiction in Tamil, Bengali and Malayalam. This phase of the project will bring to light for Welsh audiences the poetic trends and literary revolutions that are currently taking place all over the Indian sub-continent.

We’re also continuing the work of helping both emerging and established Welsh writers get their works translated into the languages of one of the fastest growing publishing markets in the world.”

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Projecting Wales – Rediscovering Russia

Wales Literature Exchange is hosting a one day seminar at Aberystwyth University on Friday the 15th of April: Projecting Wales – Rediscovering Russia with Alexandra Borisenko, Viktor Sonkin and Linor Goralik from Moscow and Stevie Davies and Wiliam Owen Roberts from Wales.

Ned Thomas will lead the seminar. 

The seminar is organised as part of Translators’ House Wales’s programme of work with support from the British Council and Academia Rossica as part of the Russian Market Focus 2011 cultural programme at the London Book Fair.

The world-wide fame of nineteenth-century classics - Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Tchekhov - and the attention paid in the West to dissident writing of the late Soviet period may give the impression that we all know our Russian literature, but the spectrum of Russian writing is historically much wider than is generally recognized here. Knowledge of contemporary Russian literature is more or less limited to specialists, and there are fewer of those following the decline of Russian studies in British universities.

In the universities of Wales there are currently no degree level courses in Russian language and literature. Literary translation has long been an important part of Russian literary culture, undertaken by the very best literary talents. That culture is also remarkable for the range of languages (including smaller languages) from which translation into Russian has taken place.

All this, taken together with the focus on Russia in this year's London Book Fair, provides the background to this one-day event organized by Wales Literature Exchange. We hope it may awaken or reawaken interest in Russian literature, and at the same time introduce our literature in both Welsh and English to writers, translators and publishers in Russia.

English will be the vehicular language of the day but writing originally in Russian, Welsh and English will be presented and discussed. Very few participants will have a knowledge of all three languages, so do not think of this as an occasion for specialists in one of these languages. The occasion has a more general aim – the development of a more active literary translation culture across a wide range of languages here in Wales. We believe the seminar will interest not only those with an interest in Russian literature but literary translators of all kinds, writers, publishers, as well as those involved in translation studies, whatever their specific language specialisms.

To close the seminar dinner will be held at Ultracomida restaurant in Aberystwyth with readings by Linor Goralik (from Russia and the Ukraine) and Welsh writer Wiliam Owen Roberts.

For more details see the British Council's website also http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-literature-londonbookfair.htm

Price for daytime attendance only (including coffee and buffet lunch): £10
Price for evening attendance only (including evening meal): £20
Price for attending both during the day and during the evening (including all meals): £25

If you would like to attend please let us know whether you will be attending the day only, the evening only or whether you will be attending both the daytime and evening events. You will also need to let us know of any special dietary requirements that you may have.

RSVP by Thursday 31st March to Catrin Ashton, Wales Literature Exchange: 01970 622544 / catrin@cyfnewidfalen.org
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Announcing the English Winner of the 2010 Translation Challenge

A commercial translator who turned her hand to fiction has won the 2010 Translation Challenge which was jointly organised this year by Translators' House Wales and Oxfam Cymru.

In a special ceremony at Tŷ Newydd, Alison Layland from Llangynog in Montgomeryshire, was announced as the English winner of this year's challenge.

During the ceremony, held on Saturday September 4, 2010 as part of the centre's 21st anniversary celebrations, Alison was presented with the 2010 Bardic Staff by the Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones AM.

She was one of thirty-six entrants for the competition to translate from French an extract from the short story, La folie était venue avec la pluie, by Haitian author, Yanick Lahens.

The judges for the competition, the author Patrick McGuiness and the dramatist, Gareth Miles, said the standard of entries this year had been very high.

Alison, who is a professional commercial translator, says she was delighted but surprised to win a literary competition although she writes creatively herself.  She was drawn to the subject matter of Haiti and was inspired by the original author's writing."I knew little about Yanick Lahens before I begun on the task but her work is wonderful - she writes about Haiti's problems so directly and honestly - her writing is atmospheric and her characters strong. Translating literature gives me the chance to enter worlds and situations unknown to me."

The Translation Challenge was launched in 2009 by Translators' House Wales to promote and celebrate the valuable contribution made by translators to the promotion of Welsh literature abroad.
Tŷ Newydd's Director, Sally Baker, said, "We are absolutely delighted that Alison has won this year's challenge . She has been to Tŷ Newydd on courses many times and is without doubt a very worthy winner."

In receiving her prize Alison said that it would inspire her to concentrate further on translating literature in her spare time.

The Welsh winner of the Challenge, Marged Haycock, was announced during the 2010 Blaenau Gwent National Eisteddfod in August. Competitors could either choose to translate from the original French into either Welsh or English.

As part of their prize both Alison and Marged will be commissioned to translate Yanick Lahen's story in its entirety - one to English and the other to Welsh.

Click here to view Alison's translation.

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HALMA: Latvian Poetry Days and panel discussion on Europe with young authors. Click here to view Press Release.

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Welsh lecturer wins 2010 Translation Challenge

In a special ceremony on the Blaenau Gwent National Eisteddfod field, Marged Haycock was announced as the winner of the 2010 Challenge. She was one of thirty-six entrants for the competition to translate from French an extract from the short story, La folie était venue avec la pluie, by Haitian author, Yanick Lahens.

Marged was presented with the 2010 Bardic Staff by the Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones AM, during the ceremony in the Aberystwyth University tent on the Eisteddfod field on Thursday, August 5th 2010.

The text for the competition was in marked contrast to the Medieval Welsh literature Marged usually studies and teaches but says she decided to enter as she was interested in Haiti's plight and was drawn to the author herself - Yanick Lahens - as she could relate to her as a fellow female academic.

Author, Patrick McGuiness, and dramatist, Gareth Miles, were the judges for the competition and as he gave the adjudication at  Thursday's ceremony Mr Miles said the standard of entries had been very high.
"The winning entry had succeeded best in combining precision with a reflection of the mood and sensuousness of the original text. I particularly enjoyed the story and I hope that soon, we will have a worthy Welsh translation of it".

Dr Sioned Puw Rowlands, said, "The response this year has been very encouraging. We've come to learn of many talented translators of which we were previously unaware."

In receiving the prize, Marged Haycock said,
"The subject chosen for the Challenge was inspiring. I felt it was worth translating. Even before the earthquake there,  Haiti was such a poor country, completely destroyed and Yanick Lahens succeeds in creating the mood and fear amongst some of its inhabitants there so vividly - her work is exhilarating."

The English winner of the Challenge will be announced on September 4th during the "21" Festival at Tŷ Newydd - a festival of literary events to celebrate Ty Newydd's 21'st anniversary.

As part of their prize the winners of the Translation Challenge will be commissioned to translate Yanick Lahen's story in its entirety. 

Click here to view Marged's translation.

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Translators House Wales 2010 Translation Challenge

Below is the extract set as Translators House Wales 2010 Translation Challenge. The extract comes from the short story, La folie était venue avec la pluie by Yanick Lahens originally written in French.

The challenge was to translate the extract from French into English or Welsh.  

La folie était venue avec la pluie
by Yanick Lahens

Août touchait à sa fin. Mon enfance aussi mais je ne le savais pas encore. Dès le commencement de l'après-midi, les nuages, comme un cortège d'anges maléfiques, avaient obscurci le ciel, aiguisant les colères, réveillant les soifs, les faims et la méchanceté des hommes. Et depuis que le corps de Mervilus avait été trouvé la veille dans une ravine non loin du quartier des Dalles, la folie comme la mort, comme l'enfance arrachée, était venue avec la pluie. Très vite les rues furent inondées par ces averses qui s'abattent toujours en cette saison et nous retournent l'âme comme une terre à labourer sans merci.

Quatre hommes avaient porté sur leurs épaules, en direction de la maison de Désilia, le cadavre de Mervilus recouvert d'un drap blanc. Ils avançaient péniblement comme un tap-tap qui se serait enlisé ou un navire qui tanguerait sous les assauts du vent. Leurs jambes s'enfonçaient dans la boue et ils hurlaient leur colère, la pluie frappait leur torse nu de ses lanières acérées et ils rugissaient encore plus fort. Tenant Jonas, mon jeune frère par la main et courant à en perdre le souffle, je rattrapai ma mère autour de cet équipage fougueux, mêlant ma voix aux gémissements des femmes, à la stridence de leurs cris, aux hurlements des hommes. La nouvelle était arrivée jusqu'à Désilia qui rejoignit le cortège à mi-chemin. Quand l'un des hommes souleva le drap, Désilia poussa le long cri plaintif d'un animal qu'on égorge. Les yeux révulsés, agitant les bras de droite à gauche, elle déchira ses vêtements et courut dans tous les sens, faisant gicler sur son passage l'eau des mares entre les cases. Très vite Boss Charles et Rameau la rattrapèrent de leurs bras robustes. Épuisée, Désilia se laissa encercler et nouer comme une bête en captivité. Aidée d'Espérance et de Nerlande, ma mère entoura ensuite la taille de Désilia, d'un grand mouchoir. Question d'aider la douleur, là dans ses flancs, à faire son temps et son nid comme on porte un enfant.

On installa le corps dans l'une des deux pièces de la case puis, comme le veut la coutume, on recouvrit l'unique miroir d'une pâte d'amidon pour enlever à Mervilus toute envie de surgir de cette surface lisse pour venir troubler le repos et le sommeil des vivants. Espérance s'occupa de la toilette du mort et ma mère entama les préparatifs du bouillon pour la veillée. Zuléma offrit les abats, Nerlande le malanga et les carottes, Conceptia le cresson et les bananes plantain.

La pluie s'apaisa dès les premières ombres. J'aidai ma mère à préparer le repas, à servir le café à ces hommes rustres, ces hommes de désir et de privation qui posaient sur moi leur regard de fièvre comme s'ils cherchaient des pistes de feu. Jonas ne tenait plus en place, la journée avait été longue. Il jouait encore pieds nus dans les flaques d'eau à l'entrée de la maison de Désilia. Et bientôt, me tirant par le bras, il réclama vivement ces images brillantes et dures que, dans la lumière déclinante du jour, je prends plaisir à convoquer pour lui. Rien que pour lui. Et qui à force, étaient devenues comme sacrées. Celles des algues phosphorescentes, des cohortes d'anges et de lutins, des sentiers aux senteurs de goyaves, de blessures tracées dans l'os par la pointe d'un coutelas, d'ogres se rassasiant de chairs d'enfants et de crépuscules mauves.

Après le repas, les hommes se partagèrent trois bouteilles de rhum et d'autres alcools, du trempé d'anis et de cerise et jouèrent aux dominos toute la nuit. Trouant la mélopée dont les femmes, lèvres serrées, âme cousue, enveloppaient la nuit, les hommes évoquèrent à tour de rôle les souvenirs du défunt. Mervilus était parti marauder dans les quartiers du haut de la ville et il n'avait pas eu de chance. Baptiste parla plus que les autres. Baptiste a toujours admiré Mervilus, bien plus jeune que lui, qui possédait une arme et arrivait à faire vivre Désilia et son fils Kesnel mieux que toutes les femmes et tous les enfants du quartier. Sans compter Mimose qui travaille chez un couple de médecins à Péguy-Ville, dans une villa cachée derrière de hauts murs, enfouie sous d'épaisses bougainvillées. Baptiste n'avait jamais osé l'accompagner dans ses tournées. Mais Mervilus savait comment les faire rêver, lui et les autres.

Mervilus militait au parti des Démunis. Des militants du parti étaient venus un après-midi jusqu'à notre quartier dans un grand tumulte de voix. Elles étaient aussi fortes que celles qui éclataient au carnaval ou dans les sermons des Adventistes du Septième Jour. Ce jour-là ma mère et moi revenions à peine du marché. Je la vis poser son panier sur le seuil de la maison et rejoindre, au bout de la rue, le groupe des hommes et des femmes qui discutaient avec animation comme si leur vie en dépendait. Agglutinés contre les deux camionnettes des hommes du parti des Démunis, nous buvions les paroles des orateurs qui nous décrivaient un bonheur d'une rare extravagance, celui que les riches ne nous avaient jamais laissé entrevoir. Les mots puissants, magiques firent fondre en un instant notre épaisse carapace de doutes et de méfiance. Et bientôt l'agitation gagna aussi les enfants. Au son d'une musique nasillarde et frénétique, improvisée pour la circonstance, Jonas et moi nous nous déhanchâmes avec les autres, bien au-delà du départ des militants. La vie avait ce jour-là un goût d'eau fraîche et d'étoiles.
C'était il y a deux ans déjà. Depuis, à en croire Boss Charles, le parti des Démunis était devenu cinq fois plus riche que l'ensemble des partis des Riches. Et puis il y avait la mort de Mervilus qui était venue tout changer.

To see how this extract sits within the rest of the short story, click on the following link and read the whole short story:

http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ile.en.ile/paroles/lahens_folie.html

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2010 Translation Challenge Launch at Hay

Translators’ House Wales launches its latest Translation Challenge at the 2010 Hay Festival.

The event will be held at 11.30 Thursday 3 June on the Academi stand promoting literature in Wales.

This year, entrants will be asked to translate a literary work from Haiti.

The original author will be interviewed by Ned Thomas from Wales Literature Exchange during the launch at Hay, which is supported by Oxfam Cymru.

The winner’s name will be announced at 11am Thursday 5 August on Aberystwyth University’s stand at the 2010 National Eisteddfod of Wales in Blaenau Gwent.

The winner will receive the 2010 Translators’ House Wales Bardic Staff as well as a chance to spend time at Tŷ Newydd.

Damian Walford Davies took the title last year with his translation of the poem Slate, Oak, Glass by National Poet Gillian Clarke.

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Tŷ Newydd and Wales Literature Exchange have come together in a joint venture to give Wales its first national Translators’ House, in a bid to boost literary exchange between Wales and the world.

Based at Tŷ Newydd, Tŷ Cyfieithu Cymru – Translators’ House Wales, in partnership with Academi and Literature across Frontiers, will run courses for international translators who want to publish work from Wales in different languages.

Short residencies will also be offered to international writers and translators of Welsh literature, and there will be training opportunities for writers who want to translate their work from Welsh to English.

There will be opportunities too for authors and poets from Wales to spend time abroad through international networks of writers and translators’ houses.

A specialist partnership is being developed with the international Halma network which promotes literary exchange across Europe, following a successful application for membership by Wales Literature Exchange and Tŷ Newydd in December 2008.

Wales Literature Exchange is based in the Mercator Institute at Aberystwyth University. Its aims and activities include promoting the literature and writers of Wales abroad; offering translation grants to publishers; providing information about writers, translators and publishers, and participating in international book fairs. www.walesliterature.org

Residencies at Tŷ Newydd