It’s with great pleasure that I will be part of a conversation in the framework of the 60 years of migration to the Netherlands from Türkiye. We will first watch two films: Kara Kafa (Korhan Yurtsever, 2014) and Ellbogen (Asli Özarslan, 2024).

Based on these we will have a warm conversation and sharing of experiences. I am truly looking forward to this. Join us! Info below.

On 10 September 2024 you are invited to an evening at Framer Framed to celebrate the book launch of (Re)claiming, the second title in the publication series Archival Textures. The evening consists of two readings, a conversation between the co-editors of the book and several contributors, and a Q&A.

The book (Re)claiming presents ways in which various queer and feminist communities and initiatives in the Netherlands have (re)claimed the triangle — along with other symbols, words and stories — and in doing so take up an empowering position in a hostile society. The concept of (re)claiming can signify both a proud identification with and protest against the stigmatisation for which a symbol, word, gesture or story was designed.

Archival materials featured in (Re)claiming include a collection of buttons, a text by Karin Daan, the designer of the Homomonument in Amsterdam and short statements and flyers by queer groups such as SUHO, Sjalhomo, Roze Front, Roze Driehoek, Roze Gebaar, Van Doofpot tot Mankepoot, Interpot/ILIS, Lesbisch Archief Amsterdam, Strange Fruit Vrouwen and Groep Zwarte Vrouwen Nijmegen. With this selection, (Re)claiming brings together queer, trans, crip, feminist, Jewish and Black perspectives on (re)claiming as an activist strategy.

Most of these materials were researched at IHLIA LGBTI Heritage in Amsterdam, with additions found at the International Institute of Social History, the International Archive for the Women’s Movement (IAV-Atria) in Amsterdam and Lesbisch Archief Nijmegen (LAN). The materials are framed by an introductory essay by Noah Littel and an intergenerational roundtable conversation. Since roundtable conversations were held as a multilingual space, translations into English and Dutch are provided by Canan Marasligil and Shira Wolfe.

During the evening, co-editors Noah Littel and Tabea Nixdorff will be in conversation with contributors to the book: authors of archival material Anne Krul and Tieneke Sumter, translator Canan Marasligil and roundtable participant micah marissa schut.

Summer sees the publication of Real, a collection of poems by Karin Karakaşlı, translated by Canan Marasligil with the poet Sarah Howe. To celebrate the launch of this new World Poet Series book, Canan Marasligil will be on tour in the UK and dropping by to run a workshop on PTC favourite Karin Karakaşlı.

From 1996 to 2006 Karin Karakaşlı worked at the Turkish-Armenian weekly newspaper Agos as editor, head of the editorial department, and columnist on both Turkish and Armenian pages. She has completed an MA in Comparative Literature, works as a translation instructor at the university and as a teacher of Armenian language and literature in an Armenian high school. She is currently a columnist at Agos and Radikal newspapers, and continues to write fiction and poetry.

There is no need to know Turkish to take part in this workshop. Everyone is welcome.

Poet Karin Karakaslı

Karin Karakaşlı was born in Istanbul in 1972. She graduated in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Her books include a children’s novel called Ay Denizle Buluşunca(When the Moon Meets the Sea), short story collections Başka Dillerin Şarkısı (Song of Other Languages), and Can Kırıkları (Splinters of the Heart), works of poetry, Her Kimsen SANA (Whoever you are this is FOR YOU), a novel is Müsait Bir Yerde İnebilir Miyim? (Can I Get Out Somewhere You Don’t Mind?).

She is the co-writer of the research book Türkiye’de Ermeniler: Cemaat, Birey, Yurttaş(Armenians in Turkey: Community, Individual, Citizen).

Poet-facilitator Chrissy Williams

Each season of PTC translation workshops is led by a poet, in this case we are delighted to be working with poet, editor and comic book writer Chrissy Williams. Her writing has been featured on BBC radio and television, and her full poetry collections are Bear (Bloodaxe, 2017) and Low (Bloodaxe, 2021). She edits the online poetry journal Perverse, and has run numerous workshops over the years. She has an Italian mother and English father, and was raised bilingually, and has run numerous workshops over the years. She has an Italian mother and English father, and was raised bilingually.

I will be performing in Labyrinth on Sunday 7 April. More info soon.

Op 14 november 2023 organiseert het ELV een studiemiddag in de Bibliotheek Utrecht genaamd 'De vertaler als professional'. Tijdens het programma worden de thema's professionalisering en zichtbaarheid van meerdere kanten belicht. Ondanks dat het beperkte aantal zitplaatsen reeds is volgeboekt, hebben we heuglijk nieuws! Bij deze willen wij literair vertalers uitnodigen zich aan te melden voor de livestream. Lees verder voor informatie over het programma en hoe je je kunt aanmelden voor de livestream.

As part of the international group “Poems for Palestine”, we will be hosting our first online recitation event.

More information about Poems for Palestine:

Workshop 1: Translation Clinic (three groups in-person or online)

Advance sign-up essential, on a first-come-first-served basis

12–1.30pm BST

Three non-language specific workshops (one in person, two online), with participants discussing current hurdles in their practice in a collegial setting, facilitated by established translators.

In-person clinic

Facilitated by Ros Schwartz, twelve participants bring a particular translation challenge they are facing – a word, a phrase, or a wider issue – to discuss with peers. In-person clinic participants must have a specific point they would like to explore in the workshop.

Online clinics (x2)

Facilitated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Canan Marasligil, six participants in each online clinic share and discuss challenges they are facing with a text they are currently translating. Online clinic participants must have a specific passage from a text they would like to explore in the workshop, and will be asked to send their translation excerpt to the facilitator in advance, and no later than 12 noon BST on Monday 25 September.

Sign up by clicking the button below (you must have a relevant ITD ticket to sign up).

I have been a member of the Auteursbond (an equivalent of the UK’s Society of Authors, here in the Netherlands where I am based) since 2011. On Thursday 23 February, they are organizing a discussion around diversity in the literary industry. I am very happy to have been invited to share my own experience on the subject. The event is in Dutch and open to members only.

De Auteursbond wil een vereniging zijn voor iedereen die schrijft en daarmee zijn/ haar/ hen brood verdient. Maar als we kijken naar wie er daadwerkelijk lid is, blijkt dat een illusie. Waar is de nieuwe generatie schrijvers/ scenaristen/ vertalers/ journalisten die werkt vanuit een inclusief en divers perspectief? Waarom zit de Auteursbond niet op hun netvlies? Belangrijker nog, waarom reikt de horizon van de Auteursbond niet voorbij wat er al is?

Het antwoord op deze vragen komt alleen door het ongemakkelijke gesprek te voeren. Praat mee!

Met: Gustaaf Peek, Jenny Mijnhijmer, Canan Marasligil e.v.a. Moderator: Chris Keulemans

Beyond Walls, Read My World en het Tropenmuseum nodigen je vanaf 10 september uit voor een nieuwe programmareeks met dichters, schrijvers en spoken word artiesten bij de tentoonstelling Onze koloniale erfenis. We trappen af met storyteller en cabaretier Joshua Timisela. Hierna gaan wij verder met kunstenaars en schrijvers Manuwi C Tokai, Kevin Groen en Nisrine Mbarki. 

In deze serie laten makers zich inspireren door een thema en een door hen gekozen ‘object’. Hun reflecties worden zowel visueel vastgelegd als voorgedragen in de vorm van een live performance waar jij bij mag zijn. In intieme setting gaan we na de performance met elkaar in gesprek. De thema’s van dit najaar zijn:

• Language (Taal),

• Ancestors (Voorouders),

• Resilience (Veerkracht/Verzet)

• en Belonging (Thuis-voelen).

Persoonlijke reflecties op koloniaal erfgoed en hoe kolonialisme doorwerkt tot op de dag vandaag komen niet alleen terug in de tentoonstelling, maar ook in de publieksprogramma’s van komende jaren. Dichter bij Onze koloniale erfenis is hier onderdeel van. 

Live performance & Filmreeks

De performances worden vastgelegd op film en geïntegreerd in een serie shortfilms van poëtische interventies die het thema, de performer, het ‘object’ en het publiek dichter bij elkaar brengt.

Data najaar 2022:

• Zaterdag 10 december met Nisrine Mbarki

I was invited by the Jan Van Eyck Academie in Maastrich to host a conversation between writer in residence Wim Peumans and Sulaiman Addonia. You can watch our talk online:

In What Will They Say, Meltem?, Meltem Halaceli, Müesser Yeniay and Çiler İlhan discussed what role literature and poetry can play in bringing to light violence against women. This event was the live finale of a series of podcasts with the same title by Winternachten programmer Meltem Halaceli. Domestic violence against women and LGBT-groups has increased worldwide and femicide has become a growing problem. Struck by this reality, Meltem Halaceli went in search of her family's feminist values and made a podcast about them. Her mother's eyes were opened by novels and poetry by Turkish, Russian and American authors who wrote about the unequal status of women. In her podcast, Meltem spoke to writers, poets and experts and asked them how they use their knowledge and literature to bring violence against women into the open.

In this live event we first of all met Turkish poet Müesser Yeniay, who recited a number of new poems. In the introduction to her latest collection Sevgiliyle Daimi Konuşma (Endless Conversation with the Loved One) she wrote: "For many Eastern women, poetry is the only place she exists." What does that mean for her poetry? The second guest was Çiler İlhan, who moved to the Netherlands from Turkey in 2017. She spoke about her latest novel Nişan Evi (Engagement House), in which women are seen as commercial objects - a body and nothing more. Her earlier book Sürgün (Exiled) won the EU Literature Prize and was translated into 20 languages. Jazz singer Sanem Kalfa framed the conversation with live music. Canan Marasligil, a translator and writer, moderated the event.

We concluded this program with a screening of the Writers' Monument. Like every year, The Theatre of Wrong Decisions has made made an updated version of their 'digital monument' for the journalists and writers who were murdered. The monument could be seen during the opening of Winternachten, to stand still together, reflect and realize how many people worldwide sacrifice their lives simply by holding the pen and wanting to tell the truth.

English spoken.

Dystopia and poetry - with Iman Mersal, Athena Farrokhzad, Ronelda S. Kamfer (online) and Widad Broco

Dystopia: we know it primarily as an imaginary society with various grim features. A terrifying image of the future, and a rewarding starting point for literature, where speculative stories and science fiction have long since claimed their place. Who's Afraid of the Female Future? was not about "typical" dystopian genres, but dealt with the relationship between dystopia and poetry. Because is poetry not the ideal genre in which socially critical ideas and dreamworlds find their place?

For women, daily reality can already feel dystopian. A grand, glamorous science-fiction tale is not necessary for a personal dystopia; poetry is the genre in which female poets feel at home. In this event you met Egyptian-Canadian poet Iman Mersal, Swedish-Iranian poet Athena Farrokhzad and South African poet Ronelda S. Kamfer (online). What is the relationship of these poets with "dystopia"? How do they imagine the future in their poetry? And is "the house" still a safe space in their dystopian-poetic world?

An intimate event for poetry aficionados, with music by poet/performer Widad Broco, the first female rap artist of the Arabic world, also known for her part in the internationally successful electro-urban music group N3rdistan. Poet and programmer Nisrine Mbarki, who put together this event, defines "dystopia" in the following way: "I see dystopian images of the world as critical images, as alarm signals of what we humans fear. Dystopian images deserve attention and space because they represent a critical voice and can shake us awake. They are a form of commentary on our current society, which is based on the liberal and capitalist system of prosperity, and therefore also the exploitation of people and the earth. We had better listen closely to such commentary."

English spoken.

It was a pleasure to interview Hengameh Yaghoobifarah for the launch of their novel Ministry of Dreams in the Netherlands.

You can listen to our conversation on the SLAA/Read My World Current Literary Affairs podcast.

I have been invited by Princeton University to give a talk on my vision of translation. This is part of their ongoing series of talks on translation.

In this talk, I draw upon my multi-hyphenated experiences as a writer, a literary translator, an artist, and a cultural programs curator to tell my personal journey and (hi)story which have taken me across languages, countries, cultures, cities, media, and genres; transforming translation into an artistic practice or into a common space for diverse voices to create with their own languages. I start with my core belief that one translates with their biography, illustrating how this stance has fed my life and work throughout the years, how it is linked to “movement” in its many definitions, and the opportunities it gives to think about translation in but also outside of the book; always in movement.

I am very happy to have been invited by the Goethe Institut London to be part of this event in the frame of International Translation Day.

Here’s a description from their website:

To mark this year's ITD the Goethe-Institut London is looking at the political responsibilities of the translator in our turbulent times. How can translators take an activist role, and is it their responsibility to do so?

Taking part in the discussion are three protagonists whose work reflects on the role of translation in debates surrounding post-colonial literatures, gender and race, and their associated power structures. The discussion will be moderated by Charlotte Ryland of the Stephen Spender Trust, and will feature contributions from Anna von Rath of poco.lit and Canan Marasligil, a literary translator.

This online event is part of the Goethe-Institut's Artificially Correct project, which aims to strengthen the position of translators by developing a conscious approach to Machine Translation, and promoting awareness of social diversity and inclusion.