Thursdays on the Stoop is a series of free, virtual writing workshops led for and by our community members. With topics ranging from generative prompts to editing strategies, these informal workshops are sure to shake up your Thursday routine. RSVP below to get the link.
Translating literature into another language builds bridges and amplifies voices through shared stories. It's also a challenging but highly rewarding creative practice that draws on skills like knowledge of multiple languages and cultures, close reading and research, and problem solving. In this panel discussion and Q&A, members of Philadelphia's Transversal collective will present an overview of the literary translation landscape, discuss pathways into the field, and share excerpts from current works in progress. They'll also answer questions and share resources for those interested in learning more. Panelists include: Sean Gasper Bye (translates from Polish), Marianna Suleymanova (Russian), and Emily Hunsberger (Spanish).
Transversal is a grassroots collective of established and aspiring literary translators in Philadelphia. It was born as a virtual space during the pandemic and has since evolved to emphasize in-person connections. Our recent gatherings have included co-working sessions, mini peer workshops, and purely social hangs.
Featured panelists
Emily Hunsberger translates literature written in Spanish by authors from all across the Americas, including the United States. Her translation of Wonderland: Crónicas of Belonging in América, a collection of essays by Melanie Márquez Adams, was recently published by Mouthfeel Press. Her translations of shorter works have appeared in Latin American Literature Today, The Southern Review, PRISM international, The Common, Southwest Review, and forthcoming in Grist. She holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Spanish and has a professional background in the fields of immigrant rights, international sustainable development, and education. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.
Sean Gasper Bye is a translator of Polish literature. He focuses on contemporary fiction and reportage, and also works with historical texts, theater and video games. His translations of Małgorzata Szejnert, Szczepan Twardoch, Mikołaj Grynberg and others have won the EBRD Literary Prize and the Asymptote Close Approximations Prize; and been shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, a National Jewish Book Award, the Sami Rohr Prize and the National Translation Award. He has been a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellow and Translator-in-Residence at Princeton University, and also mentors emerging translators through the National Centre for Writing and the Yiddish Book Center.
Marianna Suleymanova is a literary translator from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, currently living in Philadelphia. She is a contributing translator to ROAR (Russian Oppositional Arts Review) Magazine, an anti-war publication founded by the writer Linor Goralik. She enjoys rendering the voices of contemporary feminist and queer Russian-language writers in English and is committed to amplifying suppressed narratives and dissident voices. She is the winner of the 2024 Words Without Borders Momentum Grant. Her translations are out or forthcoming in Washington Square Review, Words Without Borders, The Offing, The Kenyon Review and Khōréō. Her work has received support from Words Without Borders, Bread Loaf Translators' Conference, and the American Literary Translators Association.