Translators’ Meeting Gorajec 2019

Theme: Crossroads

When: 25 – 30 June (Tuesday-Sunday)

For whom: The Meeting is addressed to those, who are engaged in literary translation from one of the languages of Central and Eastern Europe. The participants should have at least a passive knowledge of Polish. 

How to apply: 

Complete the online application form available here: Form

When applying, you will need to provide a list of your key publications, together with a short biographical sketch and a sample translation (1 page), as well as answer a few questions (regarding your motivation and the perception of the main theme). 18 representatives from seven countries will be qualified.

Application deadline – 5 May 2019

Our aim

We would like to examine the bonds linking the pieces of literature of the Central and Eastern Europe. Are there any similar themes occurring in the texts written in different languages? This is a task, that only translators can accomplish!

The theme of the 1^st Meeting, that shall be discussed and searched for in the literary texts, is “Crossroads” – lit: Kryžkelė, ukr: Роздоріжжя, cz. Rozcestí, słow. Rázcestia, serb. Raspuće, ros Перепутье)

We chose this topic as one of the symbols of borderland, which is also where our meetings will take place.

Crossroads is a place, where two paths (fates/identities/stories) meet. A place, where we reflect on our past and our future and make a choice. Traditionally, it has been associated with a place, where the invisible interpenetrates the visible, the obscure blends with the evident. What are the other meanings of crossroads? We will look for the answer during our workshops by searching for leads and references in the literary texts of the region.

The workshops

The participants will spend 6 days in the agrotouristic facility of Chutor Gorajec, which is located in the Polish-Ukrainian borderland. The workshops should help the translators with their work on the texts, develop their translation skills and give them an opportunity to exchange their experience. We will work both in plenary sessions and in smaller groups (concentrating on specific languages). We will hold panel discussion on literature and translation as such and we will host three special guests.  

The language of the meetings will be Polish, therefore we expect the participants to have at least a passive knowledge of it.

We cover the travelling expenses, as well as the costs of food and accommodation.

Commitment

After the end of our meeting each participant should prepare a translation of four pieces of poetry or of a short narrative/prose text (min. 4000 signs).

The texts should refer to the main theme of our workshops. It should also be possible to obtain their copyrights.

The texts will be published on a dedicated website, that we would like to launch and develop in the future, so that it can become a map of common topics and texts representing the region.

Should you have any questions, please contact us at translator@folkowisko.pl