Talking Translations
Literature Ireland
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Talking Translations brings together an Irish writer and a translator for each episode, sharing stories from one language to another. Our hope is to share these stories across the globe, in many different languages. To read the original short story and translation online, and to discover more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. Literature Ireland is the national organisation for the promotion of Irish literature abroad, primarily in translation. We are funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council.
Available episodes
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Feb 2, 2023
Hilary Fannin & Ada Arduini: The Weight of Love in Italian
Hilary Fannin reads a section of her novel, The Weight of Love. Hilary is joined by Ada Arduini (previous translator-in-residence at Literature Ireland), who reads her newly-commissioned Italian translation of the same excerpt.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we pair a story with a language, and ask the author and translator to read their work aloud. Then, we chat to the translator about their experience of working with the text: the challenges they were faced with, the techniques they used to overcome them. In this episode, Ada explains how she translated phrases such as "cherished disasters" and how she developed concepts like "maybe love grows" in her mother tongue.
It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Dec 15, 2022
An Interview with Aga Zano, Polish Translator
On this episode, Polish translator Aga Zano discusses using Google Maps to describe cities she hasn’t visited, how her love for literary translation began as a kid creating subtitles for cartoons, and why she thinks Megan Nolan is Sally Rooney’s dark twin.
Aga Zano spent two weeks in Dublin in October 2022 as Literature Ireland's translator-in-residence. During her time here, she worked on Sebastian Barry's upcoming novel Old God's Time.
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Oct 3, 2022
Women. Poetry. Translation. A Conversation with Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Martina Evans
Women. Poetry. Translation. A Conversation with Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Martina Evans.
To mark International Translation Day, hear readings and a discussion on Irish poetry and translation. This event was a part of the "Women and Literature" series by the Embassy of Ireland in Latvia, in partnership with Literature Ireland and the National Library of Latvia, where the event took place. This panel discussion included special guests from Ireland and Latvia, as well as a spotlight on Latvian poet Astrīde Ivaska’s time in Ireland.
Our guests:
Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
Born 1942 in Cork, Fellow emeritus of Trinity College, Dublin. Ireland Professor of Poetry 2016-19. She has published academic work on the Renaissance and on translation, as well as eleven collections of poetry. Her Collected Poems appeared in 2020 and was awarded the Pigott Prize. She has published translations of poetry from several languages, most recently Dánta Antonella Anedda, translated from Italian into Irish, published by Cois Life in 2019. Lucina Schynning in Silence of the Nicht (poems translated into Chinese) appeared from Sichuan Ethnic Publishing Company, Chengdu, in 2020. With Macdara Woods, Leland Bardwell and Pearse Hutchinson she founded the literary magazine Cyphers and remains its principal editor.
Martina Evans
Martina Evans grew up in County Cork and trained in Dublin as a radiographer before moving to London in 1988. She is the author of twelve books of poetry and prose. Now We Can Talk Openly About Men (Carcanet 2018) was shortlisted for the 2019 Irish Times Poetry Now Award, the Pigott Poetry Prize and the Roehampton Poetry Prize and was an Observer, TLS and Irish Times Book of the Year in 2018. American Mules, (Carcanet 2021) won the Pigott Poetry Prize in 2022. She is a Royal Literary Fund Advisory Fellow and an Irish Times poetry critic.
The conversation was moderated by Dr. philol. Zita Kārkla, a post doc at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of University of Latvia.
This podcast episode has been released jointly by the National Library of Latvia and Literature Ireland; Literature Ireland's episode is introduced by the Director of Literature Ireland, Sinéad Mac Aodha.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To learn more about what we do, visit Literature Ireland's website. For any queries email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is used with permission from David Hilowitz. Intro sound editing by Ciarán McCann.
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May 24, 2022
An Interview with Claire Keegan & Jorge Fondebrider
As a special episode, listen to an interview with author Claire Keegan and her Argentinian (Spanish language) translator, Jorge Fondebrider. Sinéad Mac Aodha moderates.
The discussion touches on Claire's latest novel, Small Things Like These; the beginnings of stories; the practice of writing fiction; translation and the relationship between author and translator.
"...It begins when you make an incision in time. Fiction is a temporal art, it's based on time that's irreversibly passing in one direction. A day is a day, it is the same for everyone in every language, no matter where you are or what you're doing. And everybody knows what a days is. And I think maybe that is one of the reasons translation is possible, because of that shared knowledge." -- Claire Keegan
Claire Keegan’s works have been translated into many languages with the support of Literature Ireland, including into German, Slovene, Czech, Bulgarian, French, Spanish (Argentina), Chinese, Polish, Hebrew, Turkish and Swedish. Jorge Fondebrider is an Argentinian poet, critic and translator. Jorge is an active promoter of Irish culture in Latin America. He has translated all of Claire Keegan's books.
This interview was previously released as a YouTube video on Literature Ireland's channel, and has been edited for clarity.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To learn more about what we do, visit Literature Ireland's website. For any queries email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is used with permission from David Hilowitz. Sound editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Feb 1, 2022
Lisa McInerney & Inhwi Jin: The Rules of Revelation in Korean
The Rules of Revelation, from Cork to Korea. Lisa McInerney reads a section of her third novel, The Rules of Revelation, an extract titled 'Cork is a male kind of place.' Lisa is joined by Inhwi Jin, who reads her newly-commissioned Korean translation. This episode is in celebration of Brigid's Day in Ireland and the Lunar New Year, connecting Ireland and Korea.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full text in English and Korean, and to learn more about what we do, visit http://www.literatureireland.com/books/talking-translations-podcast/. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Nov 18, 2021
Danielle McLaughlin & Giovanna Granato: The Art of Falling in Italian
Danielle McLaughlin reads a section of her debut novel, The Art of Falling. Danielle is joined by Giovanna Granato, who reads her newly-commissioned Italian translation.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full text in English and Italian, and to learn more about what we do, visit http://www.literatureireland.com/books/talking-translations-podcast/. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Jun 3, 2021
Michelle Gallen & Clara Ministral: Big Girl, Small Town in Spanish
Michelle Gallen reads a section of her novel Big Girl, Small Town. Michelle is joined by Clara Ministral who reads her Spanish translation.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full text in English and Spanish, and to learn more about what we do, visit http://www.literatureireland.com/books/talking-translations-podcast/. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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May 5, 2021
Lucy Caldwell & Agnieszka Pokojska: 'Fiction' in Polish
Lucy Caldwell reads her as-yet unpublished short story, 'Fiction'. Lucy is joined by Polish translator Agnieszka Pokojska, who reads her translation.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full text in English and Polish, and to learn more about what we do, visit http://www.literatureireland.com/books/talking-translations-podcast/. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Apr 13, 2021
Adrian Duncan & Marie Hermet: A Sabbatical in Leipzig in French
Adrian Duncan reads from his novel A Sabbatical in Leipzig. Adrian is joined by Marie Hermet, who reads her French translation from her home in Paris.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full text in English and French, and to learn more about what we do, visit http://www.literatureireland.com/books/talking-translations-podcast/. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Mar 17, 2021
Seosamh Mac Grianna & Micheál Ó hAodha: Mo Bhealach Féin in English
For this Irish language episode, a portion of Mo Bhealach Féin by Seosamh Mac Grianna is read by Damien Ó Dónaill. Micheál Ó hAodah reads from his translation into English, recently published by Lilliput Press as This Road of Mine.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in Irish and English, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Sinéad Mac Aodha, Director of Literature Ireland.
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Mar 4, 2021
John O'Donnell & Mia Pervan: 'Almost the Same Blue' in Croatian
John O'Donnell reads the title story from his recent short story collection, Almost the Same Blue, published by Doire Press (2020). He is joined by celebrated Croatian translator Mia Pervan.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Croatian, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Feb 10, 2021
Sara Baume & Inga Gaile: 'Wisdom' in Latvian
Sara Baume reads an unpublished essay, 'Wisdom', a warm reflection on life in lockdown. Writer and poet Inga Gaile reads a Latvian translation, which she co-translated with Ilmārs Šlāpins.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Latvian, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Jan 28, 2021
Rosemary Jenkinson & Tina Mahkota: 'Two People Shorten the Road' in Slovenian
Rosemary Jenkinson reads a short story, 'Two People Shorten the Road,' from her collection Lifestyle Choice 10mg published by Doire Press. Tina Mahkota reads her Slovenian translation of the story from her home in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Slovenian, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Music selection and editing by Ciarán McCann; introduction by…
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Jan 12, 2021
Kevin Barry & Bernhard Robben: 'Who's-Dead McCarthy' in German
Kevin Barry reads a short story, 'Who's-Dead McCarthy,' from his collection That Old Country Music which is published today in the USA. Kevin is joined by German translator Bernhard Robben, who just translated Barry's Beatlebone.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published – or, in this case, to share a new story from a well-established relationship.
Literature Ireland promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and German, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David H…
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Dec 3, 2020
Niamh Campbell & Regina López Muñoz: This Happy in Spanish
Niamh Campbell reads chapters from her debut novel, This Happy, from her home in Dublin. She is joined by Spanish translator Regina López Muñoz, who reads her translation from Madrid. This Happy was published in June 2020 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson; in July 2020, Niamh Campbell won the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award for 'Love Many'.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Spanish, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music kindly used with permiss…
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Nov 5, 2020
Rónán Hession & Inger Johansson: Leonard and Hungry Paul in Swedish
Rónán Hession reads chapters from his debut novel, Leonard and Hungry Paul, from his home in Dublin. He is joined by Inger Johansson, who reads her Swedish translation.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Swedish, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Editing, music selection and some composition by Ciarán McCann. Introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Oct 23, 2020
Caoilinn Hughes & Clara Ministral: The Wild Laughter in Spanish
Caoilinn Hughes reads chapters from her new novel, The Wild Laughter, from her home in Connemara, in the West of Ireland. She is joined by Clara Ministral, who reads her Spanish translation from Madrid.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Spanish, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz. Editing, music selection and some composition by Ciarán McCann. Introduction by Lynsey Reed.
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Oct 8, 2020
Kevin Barry & Auke Leistra: 'Toronto and the State of Grace' in Dutch
Kevin Barry reads a brand-new short story, Toronto and the State of Grace, from his forthcoming collection That Old Country Music. This is a special preview ahead of the book launch next week, on October 15th in Ireland and the UK. Kevin is joined by his longtime Dutch translator, Auke Leistra.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published – or, in this case, to share a new story from a well-established relationship.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Dutch, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro…
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Sep 23, 2020
Cathy Sweeney & Jerzy Kozłowsky: 'Blue' in Polish
Cathy Sweeney reads her short story 'Blue' from her debut collection, Modern Times, and Jerzy Kozłowsky reads his translation into Polish. Modern Times was first published by the Stinging Fly Press in March 2020, and published by Orion Books in the UK in July.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Polish, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz.
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Sep 8, 2020
Colum McCann & Sawsan Obeid: Apeirogon in Arabic
Colum McCann reads excerpts from his novel Apeirogon from New York, and Sawsan Obeid reads her translation into Arabic from Chicago. Apeirogon is McCann's seventh novel, published by Bloomsbury in the UK & Ireland in February 2020. It has been longlisted for the Booker Prize 2020.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Arabic, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz.
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Aug 25, 2020
Philip O'Ceallaigh & Mirela Hristova: 'My Life in the City' in Bulgarian
Philip O'Ceallaigh reads his short story 'My Life in the City' from his home in Bucharest, Romania and Bulgarian translator Mirela Hristova reads from Sofia, Bulgaria. 'My Life in the City' was recently published in the Stinging Fly Magazine, Summer 2020.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Bulgarian, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz.
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Jul 1, 2020
Wendy Erskine & Sara Koch: 'To All Their Dues' in Danish
Wendy Erskine reads the first section of her story 'To All Their Dues' to us from Belfast. Wendy is joined by Danish translator Sara Koch, who reads her translation to us from the island of Langeland, in Denmark.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a short story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and Danish, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilowitz.
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Jun 25, 2020
Sara Baume & Anna-Nina Kroll: 'Green, Mud, Gold' in German
Sara Baume reads her story 'Green, Mud, Gold' to us from a stormy day in West Cork. Sara is joined by German translator Anna-Nina Kroll, who reads her translation to us from Essen, in Germany. 'Green, Mud, Gold' is a summer story, with two cousins, Dark and Fair, and a particularly prodigious Field.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a short story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full stories in English and German, and to learn more about what we do, visit www.literatureireland.com. For any queries, or to say hello, please email info@literatureireland.com. The intro/outro music in this series is kindly used with permission from David Hilo…
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Jun 17, 2020
Mary Costello & Isabel Puente Lozano: 'Things I See' in Spanish
Author Mary Costello reads her short story 'Things I See' from her home in Dublin, in English. Mary is joined by translator Isabel Puente Lozano, who reads her Spanish translation of the story, 'Las cosas que veo', from her home in Dalkey. 'Things I See' is set in a family home in Ireland. The story weaves between the spaces inside a marriage, inside the relationship of mother and daughter, husband and wife, and the rituals and habits of home. 'Things I See' is about the distances that can accumulate between people, and the humble elasticity of love.
For each episode of 'Talking Translations' we have paired a short story with a language, and asked the author and translator to read their work aloud. It is our hope to share these stories with listeners around the world, heard in languages where the author may not yet be widely published.
Literature Ireland Promotes Irish literary authors and their work worldwide and is funded by Culture Ireland and the Arts Council. To read the full st…
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