Translation is a creative act; it is also one that is engrained in one’s own biography. Have you ever wondered how literary translation works? What choices different translators make, based on their life experiences and their knowledge? During this translation slam, we invite the audience behind the scenes of translation.

We have invited translators Adiëlle Westercappel and Fannah Palmer to, independently and without consulting each other, translate the same poem, “Seawater” by one of our international guests, Vladimir Lucien. During the Translation Slam, they present their finished work to you and to each other, under the guidance of our host, publisher and writer Elte Rauch.

Both translators will discuss their choices and the emotions behind these. The public is also encouraged to ask questions and join the conversation. We focus on the process and the journey that take translators to create the new work.

The programme will also feature Hanna Leliv, literary translator from Ukraine, who will share her translation of the same poem into Ukrainian.