Literature in Translation (LiT) Program
Launched in 2009, the LiT Program brings international writers and translators to the Studio Center for concentrated residencies of solitary work, conversation, collaboration, and bi-lingual public readings. Month-long residencies, as well as public forums featuring distinguished writers and translators, are both a part of the LiT program.
The ALSCW/VSC LiT Forum
Save the date: Friday, September 30th, 2011
On Friday September 30th, 2011, Vermont Studio Center and the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics, and Writers (ALSCW) will co-sponsor the second annual Literature in Translation forum. Italian poet Patrizia Cavalli (who will be at VSC for the week as a Visiting Writer) and her translator, Geoffrey Brock, will lead an evening in the Lowe Lecture Hall about the art of translation, not only as it relates to literature but to creative work more broadly across genres, media, and cultures. The evening is open to the public and will feature a talk, a joint bi-lingual reading, and a question and answer session.
In August 2012, the Lit Forum will feature French poetry, with poet and writer Emmanuel Moses joined by poet and translator Marilyn Hacker in the 3rd of these annual public forums.
The first LiT Forum, which featured Polish poetry in September 2010, was attended by more than ninety people in the VSC Lowe Lecture Hall (Johnson's historic opera house) for this inaugural presentation. The forum began with poet Adam Zagajewski reading his poems in both their original Polish and Clare Cavanaugh's English translations, then moved on to a discussion of their collaborative process, the back story of Adam's poem "Try to Praise the Mutilated World," (which appeared in the New Yorker immediately following the 9/11 attacks), and a question and answer session. A recording of the forum was made and added to VSC's audio podcast archive, which will be available for download or streaming in the future.
Clockwise from top left: Chinese poet Yu Jian, August 2010; VSC visiting poet Arthur Sze; Adam Zagajewski; 2010 LiT Forum with Clare Cavanaugh and Adam Zagajewski, September 2010
In addition to providing VSC and the wider community with an opportunity to hear Adam and Clare together, this ALSCW/VSC LiT forum series signals the addition of international writers and translators to the VSC residency community. Having establish its Writing program over the past 15 years and built the studios and leadership necessary to fulfill its promise, the Studio Center now welcomes writers from around the world and in so doing adds another inspiring component to its residency program.
Jintian Chinese Poetry Residencies
In August of 2010 the Vermont Studio Center, in partnership with the Jintian Literary Fund, sponsored the 2nd annual Chinese poetry residency featuring poet Yu Jian and his translator, Wang Ping. Also in residence in August was Chinese translator Arthur Sze, as well as poets/translators Rika Lesser and Ellen Dore Watson. The Jintian program got off to a wonderful start in September 2009 with the residency of poet Ouyang Jianghe and his translator, Austin Woerner.
Read Ouyang Jianghe's Thank You Letter in English or Chinese.
Other International and Translation Residencies
In addition to the aforementioned ALSCW and Jintian LiT program pairs, in 2011 writers will be coming to VSC from Guatemala, Poland and Africa; a new fellowship for Iranian-American writers, the VSC/Forugh Farrokhzad Fellowship, will also be awarded in 2011. Translators Cyrus Cassells, Rosanna Warren, David Ferry, and Marie Ponsot will also be at the Studio Center over the coming year. The presence of these writers will be a wonderful addition to the VSC community and extend the foundation for continued program growth.
Program Partnerships
Since the launch of this program in 2009, VSC has teamed up with a number of organizations who share our interest in creating residency opportunities for international writers and translators. The two LiT projects and many of the individual fellowships have been funded through partnerships with ALSCW, Polish Cultural Institute, Jintian Literary Fund, Zoland Poetry, The Donald and Shelley Rubin Foundation, the Alliance of Artists Communities, as well as several individual anonymous patrons.
Clockwise from top left: new group photo; Mario Morales with VSC alumna Deborah Clearman; VSC August 2010, Ron Padgett, Wang Ping, Yu Jian, Arthur Sze, Carol Moldaw, Rika Lesser, Ellen Watson, Gary Clark
For More Information
For more in formation on the LiT program, or to forward ideas of funding sources and international literary contacts, or to arrange for a visit to VSC during one or more of these international writing residencies, please contact Gary Clark, Director for Development and the Writing Program.
