AI Threatens Literary Translation
The etymology of the word translation—“to carry across”—conjures an image of physical labor. It is deeply relational, requiring at least two bodies, those of an author and of the person…
The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story
BY Olga Tokarczuk. translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones
Q&A: Jaquette Joins Words Without Borders
For English-speaking readers and translators of international literature, Words Without Borders (WWB) is a vital resource. Through its digital literary magazine, the nonprofit is the preeminent publisher of short translations…
Chinese sci-fi has crossed the translation barrier
Netflix's lavish new adaptation of Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem is the latest 'translation' of one of this century's best, and best-selling, sci-fi novels. In this episode, we track the…
Palestinian
I was silent and nothing came of it. I spoke and nothing came of it. I cursed, I apologized, and nothing came of it.
The People from the Dead Whale
I howled loudly and sat down. Neither my body nor my brain could handle the overwhelming vastness of this hope that now filled my head. Even knowing that most hope…
How to Survive Underground
Faced with the unthinkable, we hoard, grow suspicious, act on fear; we also reinvent, build community, and create new conditions for surviving.
A Ghost in Brazil
Kikuko Tsumura I was ever so keen to visit the Aran Islands, but unfortunately, I died before ever making it out of Japan. I was seventy-two at the time. My…
Ted Chiang Uses Science to Illuminate the Human Condition
I think science and religion could more peacefully coexist if we could agree that they are trying to answer different questions; science is investigating the question, “how does the universe…