As 2023 draws to a close, we at the Poetry Translation Centre are looking ahead to 2024, our 20th birthday year. We’ll be celebrating throughout the year with a jam-packed programme of events, workshops, publications and prizes.
To celebrate the poets and translators we’ve worked with over the past two decades, we’ve planned five themed showcases in Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Newcastle, Ledbury, London, Sheffield and Manchester. In preparation, we’ve been building relationships with communities in those regions, partnering with an array of leading cultural and community organisations to run informal workshops and events exploring ideas around translation.
But that’s not all! As we turn twenty, we’re also getting a new look – keep your eyes peeled for a rebrand and a refresh of our website very soon.
The PTC will also publish four astonishing books in 2024, including our groundbreaking anthology Living in Language: International Reflections for the Practising Poet; a new World Poet Series title, Real by Turkish poet Karin Karakaşlı, translated by Canan Marasligil and Sarah Howe; a new title by Mexican poet Victor Terán, translated by Shook from Zapotec; and Translations of the Route, a collection by Argentine poet Laura Wittner translated by Juana Adcock, published in partnership with Bloodaxe Books. Laura will be touring her book with Juana here in the UK in October.
In September, back at SOAS where the PTC was founded, we’ll celebrate the winners of the Sarah Maguire Prize for poetry in translation, and then make way for an all-out birthday party. The Sarah Maguire Prize closes for submissions on 31 December 2023 – stay tuned for the shortlist announcement in the Spring, and events featuring the shortlistees throughout the Summer.
We are also developing a new hybrid event format, which we’ll be evaluating throughout the year. Each showcase will feature one blockbuster hybrid event that won’t not remind you of Eurovision, as we connect poets, translators and audiences virtually across borders, limiting our carbon footprint.
On top of that, we’re running our regular workshop seasons at home in Deptford and online, and have more plans for UNDERTOW, our programme for polylingual young poets.
To find a full calendar of events, visit our dedicated 20th birthday page.
How can I take part?
The PTC is nothing without its network of poets, translators and language-enthusiasts. It wouldn’t be a birthday party without you there, so we heartily invite you to join in.
Come to an event
There’s no better way to celebrate than to join us at one of our events this year, whether online or in-person. Whether you’re an old friend of the PTC, or you’ve always meant to come to one of our events and never found the time, add it to your New Year’s Resolution list to find out what’s on near you and book a ticket.
Buy a book
Invite poetry in translation into your home! Enjoy one of our unique (and often award-winning) bilingual publications from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Order now.
Share a memory
Since our founding in 2004 by Sarah Maguire, the PTC’s work has touched so many lives. In 2024, we’re inviting you to share your memories of the PTC over the past two decades. We’ll update this page soon with details on how to do this.
Join our mailing list
You won’t want to miss out on all we’re doing this year. Sign up to our free mailing list to be the first to know.
Find out more about the 20th birthday here.
We thank Arts Council England and the T. S. Eliot Foundation for their support on our 20th birthday activity.
Photo by Pexels via Pixabay.
