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Translating YA Arabic Literature: Exploring Limits, Negotiating Expectations

by Program in Translation and Intercultural Communications

Lecture Humanities

Mon, Apr 14, 2025

12 PM – 1:20 PM EDT (GMT-4)

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Louis A. Simpson International Building, Room 144

Princeton, NJ 08544, United States

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Flyer for Translating YA Arabic Literature: Exploring Limits, Negotiating Expectations
Young adult (YA) literature typically explores and reflects the trials, tribulations and jubilations of youthful lives. Given that cultures shape the trajectories of life, and given the rich diversity of global cultures, how much does YA literature translated from Arabic change — if at all — as it is transported into English? How are gaps in contextual appreciation and appropriateness addressed in the Anglosphere publishing arena? What role does the translator play in negotiating and resolving the (sometimes discordant) expectations of editors, authors and readers, all while being cognizant of the fine line between providing entertainment and combating the colonization of a text? Delving into her oeuvre of past and upcoming YA books in translation, the speaker will share her experience-honed thoughts on these questions.
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Where

Louis A. Simpson International Building, Room 144

Princeton, NJ 08544, United States

Speakers

Sawad Hussain's profile photo

Sawad Hussain

Spring 2025 Translator in Residence

Princeton University

Sawad Hussain is a translator from Arabic whose work was shortlisted for The 2023 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, and longlisted for The Moore Prize for Human Rights Writing. She is a judge for the Palestine Book Awards and the Armory Square Prize for Literary Translation. She has run translation workshops under the auspices of Shadow Heroes, Africa Writes, Shubbak Festival, the Yiddish Book Center, the British Library, and the National Centre for Writing. Her latest translations include The Djinn's Apple (by Djamila Morani) and The Book Censor's Library (by Bothayna al-Essa; co-translated with Ranya Abdelrahman). A former Co-Chair of the Translator's Association (in the UK), she is committed to mentoring literary translators and developing the translation industry in general.

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Co-hosted with: Princeton Institute for International & Regional Studies

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