The Art of Listening: Four Ways to Journey Across Worlds Masterclass

As part of being the Singapore Book Council‘s first translator in residence, I’m delighted to offer a translation masterclass.

Here is a complete description:

What makes a translation come alive? How can words cross between worlds? In this interactive masterclass, the author, poet, translator, and teacher Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma will guide participants through four key aspects of literary translation: clarity, tone, structure, and completeness. Bring one or two pages of something you’re currently translating or would like to translate and a willingness to stretch your imagination! Through group discussion, mini lectures, and hands-on experimentation, you will deepen your knowledge of both the artistic and practical dimensions of literary translation and come away inspired by new perspectives and possibilities.

(This masterclass is part of a series of programmes under the SBC Translator Residency conducted by Thomas Hitorshi Pruiksma.)

Lunch and tea will be provided.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the masterclass, participants will be able to:

• Identify which aspects of any particular work they most wish to convey, understanding how clarity about those aspects can help guide the larger process of translation.
• Deal adroitly with the question of tone in English with an understanding of the often overlooked historical and structural factors involved.
• Orient their work toward larger structures such as phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs to give their translation greater consistency and flow.
• Determine for any particular work those factors which lead to a complete and fully integrated translation able to shine on its own.
• Navigate both the professional demands of publishing and the artistic and cultural contexts to which their translation will pertain.

Programme Itinerary

• Introductions
• The first aspect: CLARITY
• The second aspect: TONE
• The business of translation
• The third aspect: STRUCTURE
• The fourth aspect: COMPLETENESS
• Guided translation exercise*
• Closing Review

* Do prepare one or two pages of something you’re currently translating or would like to translate to the masterclass. The masterclass will focus on translations into English, and there are no restrictions on the source language.