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Lecture to explore controversies around global fiction and translation

Professor Marina Warner DBE will advocate translation in global fiction in a free public lecture at Birkbeck this week.

Professor Marina Warner DBE will advocate translation in global fiction as a powerful way to “enlarge the world and stretch our knowledge” in a free public lecture at Birkbeck, University of London, this week.

Writer, mythographer and professor of English and Creative Writing at Birkbeck, Prof Warner will deliver the College’s annual William Matthews Memorial Lecture on Tuesday, June 2, at Senate House at 6pm.

In presenting her chosen topic, ‘Translumination or Travesty? The Passage into English’ she will explore the character of global fiction and the questions raised by the domination of English as a world language.

Prof Warner found inspiration for the lecture while carrying out her duties as Chair of the Man Booker International Prize judges, which this month announced its winner, Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai .

Prof Warner said: “I had a wonderful time reading for the prize, which this year featured  more books in translation than ever before – eight out of 10 finalists, and across seven different languages.”

“I believe this reflects what is happening in contemporary literature today; we are seeing a higher commitment to helping the written word cross linguistic boundaries. In terms of reader appetite, there is increasing interest in worldwide fiction, meanwhile many writers themselves are increasingly interested in translation, and translators, too, are writing more of their own work.”

Her public lecture will address the controversies surrounding cross-cultural writing – namely questions as to whether meanings and nuances successfully cross linguistic boundaries, whether something is inevitably lost in translation, or if literary translation is part a wider global trend of corporate homogenisation.

“I don’t believe these are significant problems, ” Prof Warner continued.

“In my talk I will argue that the writers I have read and whose work I have thoroughly enjoyed  have been translated with remarkable sensitivity in several cases – illuminated by their translators (hence ‘translumination’ - in ways that honour the strangeness  and specificity of the original. Many forms of English are coming into being through these exchanges and crossings.

“As such, I believe their meaning carries across boundaries very successfully indeed, offering readers powerful insights which help enlarge the world and stretch our knowledge as well as delight us – as well as shock and scandalise.”

Other topics to be explored during the free public lecture include:

  • The current trend in contemporary literature for modern writers to translate the classics
  • The proliferation of digital publishing and literary platforms is opening the doors to writers from previously underrepresented nations, such as Mozambique, Guadeloupe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

‘Translumination or Travesty? The Passage into English’, the annual William Matthews lecture delivered by Professor Marina Warner DBE, will be held at Birkbeck, University of London, on Tuesday, June 2, at Senate House at 6pm.

Attendance is free, but booking is essential. To secure a space, which includes the post-event reception, visit the event page

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