Are you a Latinx person interested in learning more about translation? Sign up to this free workshop programme from the Poetry Translation Centre to develop your creative skills, learn more about Latin America’s diverse cultures and languages, meet like-minded Latinx locals and get paid to perform at the British Library in July.

The Poetry Translation Centre and Un Nuevo Sol are teaming up to offer Latinx creatives in/around London a free series of four poetry translation workshops this April at Latin America House. You don’t need to have any experience in translation, and you don’t even need to speak Spanish, Portuguese or any other language to take part.

Guided by award-winning poet-facilitator Leo Boix and a roster of expert translators, at each workshop, we’ll work together to create a group translation of a poem, immersing ourselves in questions around culture, language and nuance.

All four collaborative translations will be published on the PTC’s website, joining an archive of hundreds of poems translated from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Finally, you’ll have the exclusive chance to perform two of the translations at a special Latinx showcase at the British Library on Tuesday 9 July. This isn’t obligatory - but we’ll pay £100 each to up to six participants who’d like to perform.

Image above: a group of participants round a big table discuss, laugh and take notes during a translation workshop

Why take part?

“I enjoyed the collaborative spirit of it. This was something I hadn't experienced in a workshop before but it was so valuable!” – workshop participant

No matter what your artistic practice is, introducing the questions provoked by translation can only enrich it. How can we communicate across languages and cultures? What power dynamics are at play when we translate with colonial languages? Is translation even possible?

These unique workshops will also inspire genuinely fun discussions around the cultures and languages of Latin America. You’ll learn to see language, poetry and translation in a new way, all while collaborating with fellow Latinx creatives. Your work will be published online, and you’ll have the career-boosting opportunity to appear on stage at the British Library, alongside stars of Latin American diaspora music and literature.

Workshop participants have said that the PTC’s unique workshops are ‘inclusive and thought-provoking’, ‘good fun, genuinely open and collaborative’, ‘relaxed’ and offer a ‘feeling of belonging’. We can’t wait to welcome you to this project.

Dates and details

Each workshop will run 6.30-8.30pm in Cuba Room, Latin America House, London. Please arrive at 6.15pm for a prompt 6.30 start. There will be snacks!

4 April - translate a Nicaraguan poet from Spanish into English, with Helen Dixon

11 April - translate Marina Sánchez, a UK-based Latinx poet from English into Spanish, with Jon Herring

18 April - translate a female Brazilian poet from Portuguese into English, with Francisco Vilhena

25 April - translate Raúl Cisneros, a Peruvian poet from Quechua into English, with Constantina Higbee

2 May - a planning and rehearsal session for the performance at the British Library (everyone invited, even if you don’t want to perform!)

9 July - select participants to perform at the Latinx showcase at the British Library

Do I have to come to all the workshops?

We’re asking participants to commit to the full four week workshop programme. If you can’t make one of the dates, that’s okay - but we’d like this opportunity to be for one group of people, who will get to know each other and form creative networks over the course of the programme. If you’d like to attend one-off workshops, you can do so as part of the PTC’s regular workshop season.

Can I join online?

This workshop series is in-person only. However, the PTC offers online workshops as part of its regular workshop season, and frequently translates poets from Latin America.

Access information

All 5 sessions will take place in the Cuba Room in Latin America House. This is on the third floor where there is no wheelchair access. If you require wheelchair access to participate, please email helen@poetrytranslation.org and we will find a solution.

Although we can’t offer payment for you to attend these workshops, we are happy to cover your travel expenses - just keep your receipts!

Any other questions?

If you have any other questions or access requirements, email Participation Producer Bern Roche Farrelly bern@poetrytranslation.org.