AWP Bookfair: Margaret Sayers Peden, Jen Hofer, Meena & More

Just back from the AWP bookfair in Atlanta-- so much to blog about! One of the books I was most excited to see is the gorgeous and essential new anthology edited by Margaret Sayers Peden, Mexican Writers on Writing. (Trinity University Press). It includes essays by Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, Rosario Castellanos, Angeles Mastretta, Juan Villoro, Pedro Angel Palou, Carlos Fuentes, Octavio Paz, Ilan Stavans, Juan Villoro, and Jorge Volpi, in addition to a dozen others. The cover painting is "Our Dream" by Mexican artist Alfredo Castaneda. (Peden and Castaneda have collaborated on another book: read about that here.) I also got a copy Jen Hofer's hot off the presses translation of Laura Solorzano's poems Lobo de labio as Lip Wolf (Action Books). (Check out the Action Books manifesto: "We're not so interested in tchotschkes from the style-mart".) Monica del la Torre's blurb for Lip Wolf: "Readers beware. You are about to go into the lion's den." Also at the bookfair--- in fact, the table right next to mine (Tameme)--- was Meena, the bilingual Arabic/ English literary journal edited by Andrea Young and Khaled Hegazzi. They've just brought out their fascinating second issue. Meena means "port" in Arabic. More anon.

SASS and STiNA

The Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Studies (SASS) will be having its annual conference in Rock Island, Illinois on 26-28 April 2007. Presenters have been chosen and the program is listed on their website. For the third time, the Association of Swedish Translators in North America (STiNA: www.swedishtranslators.org ) will be sponsering a panel on Swedish literary translation issues. Speakers include Johannes Göransson, Eva Alison, Margareta Horiba, Erland Anderson and STiNA president, Paul Norlen.
STiNA was founded on March 18th, 2004, by Paul Norlen and myself, Laura A. Wideburg, and has now grown to a membership of 36 in its third year. We keep translators of literary Swedish informed of events in North America, search for information on grants of relevance to Swedish translators, updates on the Gothenburg Book Fair, and especially work on providing assitence to translators just entering the field. For me, personally, it has been amazing to be on the ground floor of an association that has proved its usefulness both in North America and in Sweden. As we enter our fourth year, I look back on the accomplishments we made: three translation panels at SASS, a number of presentations at ALTA 2006, and contacts with the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Consulate in New York, which provided start-up funds during our second year, and the Swedish Authors Union. We will also be co-sponsering the Seattle leg of a three-city trip by four renowned Swedish mystery authors this April and May.