Poets and politics at World Literature Weekend

A little while ago the London Review of Books bookshop came up with a very good idea: why not create a new literary festival dedicated to international fiction? So, in 2009 they launched World Literature Weekend, a chance for readers to discover exciting new international writing - as well as publically exploring the art of literary translation. I really enjoyed last year's festival, especially having the chance to interview Alain Mabanckou, whose Memoirs of a Porcupine came out in English this year.

This weekend I was back at the British Museum in Bloomsbury for World Literature Weekend 2011. I was really impressed with the turnout: the lecture theatre was almost full at every event I went to, suggesting that translated fiction isn't the minority subject it's often said to be.

First I went to see Manuel Rivas, author of Books Burn Badly, talking to his English translator Jonathan Dunne. Rivas spoke in Galician (one of the four official languages of Spain), with Jonathan interpreting. After a great discussion of the role of the writer, the relationship between writing and the environment, and the best way of scaring Galician wild boars out of fields (play political chat shows on the radio, apparently), Rivas ended by reading some of his poetry. One thing that instantly strikes you about him is his amazing, charismatic voice: he gave a dramatic performance which had everybody spell-bound.

Next I went to a panel discussion of Javier Cercas' Anatomy of a Moment (translated by Anne McLean), with Cercas, novelist Lisa Hilton and historian Professor Paul Preston. Anatomy of a Moment is a historical novel (though not 'fiction', Cercas argued) exploring the 1981 coup d'état, which Cercas described as 'the moment when democracy really began in Spain.' Paul described Cercas' book as a psychological novel, exploring what must have been going through the minds of Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez and the 'heroes of treason' (as Cercas calls them) as they become protagonists in that turning point in Spanish history.

Finally, I went to a 'Live Translation' event with translators Shaun Whiteside and Mike Mitchell and German author Daniel Kehlman, chaired by translator Daniel Hahn. I'd been to a live translation event before - with Anne Frank's Diary - so I already knew the format: two translators translate a literary passage (this time from a novel by Daniel Kehlman); then the audience is given a copy of both translations to compare and discuss at the event. In the long paragraph we looked at, there wasn't a single sentence that was the same in both translations, reflecting Mike and Shaun's strikingly different styles and voices.

It was interesting seeing the author getting involved this time. Kehlman pointed out that while the source text is usually seen as sacred and untouchable, it's not really like that: just as the translators kept thinking of things they could have done differently, Kehlman also kept pointing out things that he would like to change in the original German.

All in all, it was a great weekend - and I only had a taste of the whole festival. There were 10 other events I didn't even make it to. I read a lot of translated fiction so it's fantastic to have the chance to see so many international authors in one place, talking about their work and the role of the translator. I'm already looking forward to finding out what's in store for us next year.