Lauren Ray

This is a bi-weekly summary of translation and language justice news and events.

• “Co-translation is marvelous.” So writes Daniel Hahn and Lisa Dillman in this humorous recommendation list of co-translated books. I haven’t read any of these works but I was intrigued by their notes on different approaches to, and benefits of, collaborative translation.
• Four translators and publishers answer the question, What Comes After #NameTheTranslator? I don’t disagree with any of the points here, but I do wonder where is conversation around the narrow focus on into-English translation in the United States, despite the fact that this country is incredibly multilingual itself. What are the economic, political, and social structures that reduce non-English languages (especially the non-”Big Four” languages) to a minimal priority? How can translators act to change those?
• For those of us who suffer from procrastination with writing, Jane Jones reminds us that Writing Inspiration Isn’t Enough. This post brought to mind Octavia Butler’s sage advice: “First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.”
• Interpreters for the European Parliament are still carrying out job actions to fight for better working conditions. (Check out these older articles here and here for more background.)
• Seattle students are back in school after a strike by the teachers over working conditions, which included demands to increase services and funding for translation and interpreting for multilingual students.

What are you reading this week? Feel free to comment & share!