The PTC has been running our collaborative translation workshops for almost 20 years. The participants gather together to translate a poem into English. A guest-translator provides a rough translation that the team can work from and there is a poet-facilitator on hand to help guide the process. It is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people and share a unique stimulating experience.

This summer Helen Bowell will be retuning as our poet-facilitator. At the first workshop we will welcome back Phuong Anh Nguyen to continue our translation of ‘on a species of bird that doesn’t fly away’, a prose poem looking at memory and grief by Vietnamese poet Linh San.

Also, returning is translator Micha Myers, who will be brining us more poetry about family and relationships by Hebrew poet Batsheva Dori. Completely new to our workshops is translator, poet and activist Helen Dixon who will be introducing us to the work of Carola Brantome, an award winning Nicaraguan poet.

The workshops will finish in early July with a workshop on Sudanese poet Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, one of the leading African poets writing in Arabic today. Al-Raddi was one of the first poets translated by the PTC and this year, we will be publishing his latest collection in a dual-language edition. His translators, Bryar Bajalan and Shook, will be at the workshop, helping to unpack these lyrical poems about the melancholy of exile.

Workshop Facilitator – Helen Bowell

The London-based poet Helen Bowell is the co-director of Dead [Women] Poets Society. In 2020, she co-guest-edited an issue of Modern Poetry in Translation (focus on dead women poets). She is also a Ledbury Poetry Critic and her debut pamphlet The Barman was published by Bad Betty Press in 2022.

There is no need to know the language being translated. Simply come along and share your passion for words, writing and understanding.

Season Passes

You can get tickets for individual workshops or save money by signing up for a Season Pass. The saving on a season pass is equivalent to a free workshop. Concession tickets are available for the unwaged.

Season Pass – £55 (£35 concessions) – Book your Season Pass here.