Hailing from Mauritius, the small island nation off the Southeast coast of Africa that bares the linguistic legacies of both Dutch and French colonisation, Umar Timol writes poetry in a French creole that is thick with neologisms. Belgian author Hilde Keteleer described him as “a poet who aspires to take every form and style – in fact every genre – and appropriate them for himself”. Returning guest-translator Delaina Haslam will be introducing Timol’s work and providing the bridge translation for this session.

To attend this workshop, and the rest in our winter series, follow this link to purchase a season pass: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poetry-translation-workshops-winter-season-2018-tickets-48871531065

The workshops are open to all. There is no need to know the language being translated.

Umar Timol is a Mauritian poet and writer. He has three poetry collections to his name and two novels. He has also published a collection of aphorisms, and writes comic book scripts. He has received two Centre National du Livre grants, and taken part in festivals around the world, including the Medellin International Poetry Festival in Colombia and the Poetry International Festival Rotterdam. In 2018 he will take part in the Iowa International Writing Programme.

Delaina Haslam is a translator, editor, and writer. She translates from French and Spanish, specialising in sociological and literary texts. She worked in journalism and publishing in Madrid and London before studying translation. She has written for and edited publications including In Madrid magazine and le cool London. She’s interested in collaborative translation and has had a submission accepted for Newcastle University’s Poettrios Experiment.

Edward Doegar is a poet, editor and critic based in London, and the commissioning editor at the Poetry Translation Centre. His poems have appeared in various anthologies and journals, including Ten: The New Wave (Bloodaxe) and Granta. He is a consulting editor at The Rialto, a fellow of The Complete Works and was general manager of the Poetry Society between 2013 and 2017. His pamphlet, For Now, was published by clinic in 2017.