For twenty years, Ilan Stavans has been translating poetry from Spanish, Yiddish, Hebrew, French, Portuguese, Russian, German, Georgian, and other languages. His versions of Borges, Neruda, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, and dozens of others have become classics. His newest volume Selected Translations, published by UPitt Press, includes translations of more than forty poets  all over the world and is testimony to a life dedicated to the pursuit of beauty through poetry in different languages. Moderated by poet/editor Matthew Zapruder. 

Language: Multiple
Format: Live conversation in English; viewed virtually

Eulalia Books is a Pittsburgh-based independent publisher of literary translations. They publish work that has never before appeared in English translation, with a special emphasis on work from Latin America. Katabasis, translated by Olivia Lott, is their newest publication. It is the first poetry collection written by a Colombian woman to be translated to English and was named by Pen America as one of the top 5 works in translation in 2020. In this program Olivia will read from Katabasis and be joined in conversation by Michelle Gil-Monterro, Executive Director of Eulalia Book as they discuss discovering the Katabasis manuscript in a street market in Colombia, as well as Michelle’s experiences starting a small, independent translation press in Pittsburgh. 

Language: Spanish
Format: Live conversation in English; viewed virtually

How does the publishing industry dictate what languages are furthered and which are forgotten? What happens when the dialect you speak at home is not what you see reflected in books? What is gained and what is lost when artists from smaller countries are published and achieve recognition in Europe and the US? What will it take to translate the canonical literature of smaller countries into English? Our expert panel grapples with these questions and shares their literary work and their efforts to use translation to combat the erasure of culture.  

Languages: Spanish and Guyanese Creole
Format: Live conversation in English; viewed virtually

Mixing wry humor and riveting emotional depth, Mieko Kawakami is one of Japan’s most important and best-selling contemporary writers. Mieko’s first novel to be published in English, Breast and Eggs, was rated one of Time Magazine’s 10 best books of 2020. The novel is a radical and intimate portrait of contemporary working class womanhood in Japan, recounting the heartbreaking journeys of three women in a society where the odds are stacked against them. Mieko joins us live from Japan, in conversation with her translators, to discuss Breast and Eggs and celebrate the launch of her newest, highly anticipated English release, Heaven. LitFest 2021 marks the novel’s debut event—an evening not to be missed! 

Language: Japanese
Format: Artist live from Japan with English interpretation; viewed virtually

Vietnamese-American novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen joins us live to discuss The Committed, his much-anticipated sequel to his Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Sympathizer. This newest novel is fierce in tone, capacious, witty, sharp, and deeply researched. The Committed marks not just a sequel to its groundbreaking predecessor, but a sum total accumulation of a life devoted to Vietnamese American history and scholarship. It asks questions central to Vietnamese everywhere—and to our very species: How do we live in the wake of seismic loss and betrayal?

Language: English
Format: Live conversation; viewed virtually

Nobel Prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk joins us from Poland to discuss her award winning book Flights as well as her forthcoming “magnum opus” The Book of Jacob. The program concludes with a live conversation with Olga’s translator Jennifer Croft, winner of the Man Booker International Prize for Flights to discuss her work with Olga—including the 7-year journey to get Flights published in the US. Jennifer will also discuss her translation of Argentinian authors and the ways her own writing is influenced by the voices she translates. 

Languages: Polish
Format: Pre-recorded conversation in Polish with English subtitles + live conversation in English; viewed virtually

Pulitzer-prize winning poet and translator Forrest Gander and Mexican poet Coral Bracho celebrate the forthcoming release of Bracho’s English collection It Must Be a Misunderstanding. Coral Bracho is credited with changing the course of contemporary Mexican poetry and remains one of her country’s most influential poets. This newest release, the second Gander/Bracho translation, charts a different course: part poetry collection and part memoir, focusing on the journey through Bracho’s mother’s Alzheimers. Forrest and Coral join us live for a bilingual reading and discussion centered on translating something as deeply personal as a mother’s illness.

Language: Spanish
Format: Live conversation in English; viewed virtually

“Homegrown Stories 2” is a co-production between City Theatre Company and Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse. The Pittsburgh Playhouse and City Theatre Company commissioned five playwrights to write ten-minute plays for a digital medium in response to our current world. This one-night only digital reading of the resulting works will be followed by a talkback with the creative teams.

Join us for the regional premier and unreleased screening of “SOUS LA PEAU” a film by Robin Harsch hosted by ReelQ. This program includes an exclusive interview with the director and some of the documentary’s subjects. “If my son ever told me he’d like to change his sex, I think that the ground would collapse under my feet. Understanding it could save me. But how? For 2 years, I followed 3 trans teenagers going through this battlefield where clashes gender, and essentially, identity issues.” – Robin Harsch