Please join us on Tuesday, April 10 at 3:30 p.m. in the Stern Lounge (Austin 217) for afternoon coffee, refreshments, and a reading and talk with noted translator Kareem Abu-Zeid: "Translating Arabic Poetry, Pre-Islamic to Modern: Creative Challenges and Opportunities."
Dr. Abu-Zeid will talk about specific translation issues in regards to some of his translations of modern Arabic. He will also introduce and read from his translations of pre-Islamic poetry, discussing related translation challenges. Discussion and Q&A with Peter Constantine and surprise special guests to follow.
Kareem James Abu-Zeid is a translator, editor, writer, and scholar. As a translator of Arabic literature, he seeks to introduce the writings of poets and novelists from across the Arab world to a broader international audience. His most recent book-length translations include Najwan Darwish's Nothing More to Lose, Dunya Mikhail's The Iraqi Nights, and Rabee Jaber's Confessions and The Mehlis Report. He was awarded PEN Center USA’s 2017 Translation Prize and a 2018 NEA Grant, and has received residencies from the Banff Center and the Lannan Foundation, as well as a Fulbright Fellowship. He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and also works as a translator from French and German, and as a ghostwriter.
Coffee and other refreshments will be on offer.
This event is co-sponsored with the generous support of the UConn Humanities Institute, Creative Writing, Translation Studies, and the Aetna Chair of Writing.
For more information, contact: Kerry Carnahan, Assistant Director of Creative Writing at kerry.carnahan@uconn.edu