Translation Island

Diyarbakır Literature House & Lîs Publishing House

Printed Translated Book, Talk

Diyarbakır

01/05 – 30/11/2021

Established with the contributions of the Lîs Publishing House, Wêjegeh Amed|Diyarbakır Literature House aims to strengthen the Kurdish language since its foundation, and contributes to “Island of Translation”, with Kurdish translations that are combined with literature on eco-critical discourse, featured by the literature house, reflecting upon the distinction between the human and nonhuman. The project invites the audience to reflect upon the interconnection between translation and eco-critical discourse: translation carries aesthetics beyond language and culture by stretching the limits of both the translated narrative and the new target language, and the eco-critical perspective, carrying literature beyond species and vitality by attributing the eco-critical perspective’s capacity of building a narrative also to the nonhuman.

The German novel Herztier (Dilajal)  by Herta Müller is presented to  Kurdish readers and writers through a translation by Hesen İldiz, while the Swedish novel Hunden (Kûçik) by Kerstin Ekman is translated by Salih Agir Qoserî, and the English novel Hotel World (Hotel Dinya) by Ali Smith is translated by Samî Hêzil. After the translations are completed, the translators and writers participate in conversations in which the translation process and the ecocritical possibilities of the novels are evaluated.

The books of the three women writers are added to the Cervantes library where the Lîs Publishing House collects translations of World Literature, and by means of these publications, ethical-aesthetical issues regarding the ecocritical points of view within the discussions on Kurdish literature are brought to the agenda.