'Live' translation event, Saturday 19 June, British Museum

Time was that the most fun to be had with translation was taking pot-shots at isolated errors and disputed choices by translators who aren't there to answer back (reviewers, I'm talking about you). There's now a plethora of workshops, translation slams and the like to enjoy. I really like the look of the 'live' translation event being run by the London Review Bookshop as part of its World Literature Weekend. "Sarah Ardizzone, translator of Faïza Guène and Daniel Pennac, and Frank Wynne, translator of Ahmadou Kourouma and Michel Houellebecq, will each present a translation of the same short French text, and then debate and resolve the differences in the English versions with the author. The challenge will be provided by the L.A.-based francophone novelist Alain Mabanckou, whose novels push out the boundaries of the French language. The event will be chaired by writer and translator Daniel Hahn."
Those of you in the London area might like to take this opportunity to see two very experienced translators talking about the detail of their craft with the author of the source text.