Welcome to Stuff. The Poetry Trust's latest news, events, podcasts and publications.

The art of translation – two new podcasts on The Poetry Channel

This month we’re celebrating the art of poetry translation. Every year poets in translation are a key element of the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival and a necessary reminder that not all poetry starts off in English! Enjoy two insightful and meditative conversations on the process and challenge of translating the uniqueness of another poet’s vision and voice.

Jamie McKendrick is the translator of the pre-eminent Italian poet Valerio Magrelli. Magrelli’s first UK publication The Embrace: Selected Poems was launched by Faber at the 2009 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. McKendrick suggests that translation involves revealing the language within the language and finding the distinct and unique tongue of the individual writer. Magrelli himself is an experienced translator, obsessed by the complex inner life of words.
The Poetry Channel 

Sasha Dugdale has won huge acclaim for her translations of Elena Shvarts, one of Russia’s greatest contemporary poets. In conversation with Robert Seatter she discusses how Shvarts’s extraordinarily eccentric view of the world has influenced her own poetry. And be sure not to miss her Russian recital of Robert Burns…
The Poetry Channel

 

More poetry in translation news and links…

The Stephen Spender Prize for Poetry Translation 2010: Three categories: Open, 18-and-under and 14-and-under. Deadline Friday 28 May 2010

The Poetry Translation Centre: Dedicated to translating contemporary poetry from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The British Centre for Literary Translation: Take a look at the new website for the UK’s leading centre for the development, promotion and support of literary translation.

Modern Poetry in Translation: The international magazine for the translation of poetry into English.

 

Poetry @ The Cut, Thursday 4 March, 7.30pm, The Cut, Halesworth

This spring join us at The Cut for an evening with two exceptionally warm and generous poets. This is a fantastic opportunity - rare in Suffolk - to hear such high quality live poetry.

Mimi Khalvati
Described by George Szirtes as “one of the most poignant and graceful poets currently writing in England”, Mimi Khalvati has published six collections and her work has been translated into nine languages. She has been praised for writing “some of the finest sad poems since Tennyson”. Her lyric poems touch on joyous celebrations of the physical world, snapshots from childhood and tender poems of family, loss and love.

Roger Robinson
“We need poets like Roger Robinson,” says Bernardine Evaristo who describes the Trinidadian writer as a “fresh, daring, sensitive, clear-sighted and big-hearted poetic voice”. Part of a new generation of writers who take their cues from music and comedy, his energetic performances have won him a legion of loyal fans. He delivered an outstanding and memorable reading at the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival last autumn.

Tickets £6
Box office: 0845 673 2123
More information
Supported by The Limbourne Trust

 

STUFF about… Peter Sansom

Kicking-off a new monthly slot in which we delve deeper into the world and words of an individual poet we’re keen on, we bring you… STUFF about Peter Sansom. Peter has made ‘a sort of living’ from poetry for over 20 years and has been praised for the ‘candour of his confessions’ and his ‘surrealistic take on every day life’. Through residencies with Marks & Spencer, The Prudential and Morrisons he has sought to demystify contemporary poetry. As Director of The Poetry Business he has tutored countless poets, stressing the importance of ‘writing authentically’ and ‘saying genuinely what you genuinely need to say’. Described by The Guardian ‘as the best poetry teacher in the world’, Peter is the co-tutor of the Aldeburgh Advanced Seminar taking place next month. His latest pamphlet The Night is Young, is published by and available from The Rialto.

 

What’s The Poetry Trust been up to during the big freeze?

According to Dean Parkin (Creative Director), “The 2010 Aldeburgh Poetry Festival programme has been coming together since June last year. We’ve already got eight names confirmed (including three international poets) and the rest of the invitations will be going out by the end of February. The Festival is known for its general principle of not inviting poets back - a rule we’ve sometimes relaxed when there’s been a break of a decade or more. This year we’re currently aiming for a completely fresh line-up of poets and so far the eight confirmed poets are all first-timers. But things may change…

Once our main 12 poets are all in place (hopefully by the beginning of March!) then the fun begins: sorting out the reading order and concurrent events; finding out more about poets’ particular interests and enthusiasms; identifying less obvious poets for stimulating close readings and craft talks; and best of all, acting as a matchmaker to create unusual pairings for conversations.

Festival aside, I’m looking forward to Mimi Khalvati and Roger Robinson coming to The Cut in March. Mimi’s workshop sold-out predictably fast but there are still tickets available for the evening reading. We’re also busy recording new poem shows for The Poetry Channel for a U.S. Poets series we’ll be running throughout April (coinciding with National Poetry Month in America).

And… when I emerge from my three days a week at Poetry Trust Towers, I’m busy preparing my own show for Edinburgh in August…

www.deanparkin.co.uk

 

New Board Member

The Poetry Trust is seeking a specialist new trustee to join its dynamic board. Current membership comprises a strong mix of marketing, legal, financial, digital, and business planning skills and experience. But the board needs a champion money-raiser and advocate. In today’s difficult financial climate, the Trust must maintain its outstanding fundraising track record to ensure a robust future. Could you be just who we’re looking for?

For an informal chat and more information, please call 01986 835950. Or send a CV and statement of suitability to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (The Poetry Trust, The Cut, 9 New Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk, IP19 8BY)

 

Arts Council Consultation – Achieving great art for everyone

Between now and 14 April 2010, Arts Council England are consulting artists, arts organisations and other key stakeholders on future priorities for the arts. This is a major consultation that will help shape arts funding and development over the next ten years. Poetry has been highlighted as a particular priority area within the literature strand. Share your views

 

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You may also be interested in …

Words by the Water Literature Festival 5-14 March, Cumbria
Including the Mirehouse Poetry Prize reading on 13 March

The Michael Marks Award for Poetry Pamphlets Two awards worth £5,000; the Poetry Award recognises an outstanding work of poetry published in pamphlet form in 2009, and the Publishers’ Award is for a publisher to reward their endeavours in promoting poetry pamphlets in 2009. Deadline 12 March 2010.

Writer in Residence The Hosking House is seeking to appoint a writer for its twelfth arts residency. The appointment is restricted to women aged forty or more. Deadline 12 April 2010.

 

Friends of The Poetry Trust

If you like The Poetry Trust’s work and can offer a little extra support, then please become a Friend. In return for a £15 annual subscription, Friends enjoy Special Offers as well as an exclusive priority booking period for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival. As dedicated Festival audiences know all too well, Aldeburgh events frequently sell out: so being a Friend offers a real benefit. To join, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and we’ll do the rest.