Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Max Porter’s melding of freeform poetry with kinetic prose in experimental masterworks like Grief Is A Thing mark him as the most gifted stylists of the decade. But how do you teach a crow Dutch? Porter leads a singular discussion with two of his closest translators, illuminating the depth of collaboration and artistry needed to give these works fidelity on the international scene. "
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A event held at The Station on Wednesday 14th May. The event starts at 19:30.
Translated By, Bristol is proud to present an evening with Max Porter (author of Grief is the Thing With Feathers, Lanny and Shy) in conversation with two close collaborators: translators Saskia van der Lingen (Dutch) and Charles Recoursé (French), who have both translated all of Porter's major works to date.
The event will feature discussions with Max, Saskia and Charles as well as readings in multiple languages, a Q&A and a signing.
This will be an incredibly rare and cool chance to discover Porter's hugely beloved body of work in a totally illuminating new way - don't miss it!
_
ABOUT CHARLES RECOURSÉ
Charles Recoursé was born in 1982. After an erratic curriculum, he started working for French publisher Au diable vauvert, where he discovered translation working on books by Simon Reynolds and David Foster Wallace. He has been a full-time translator since 2011, translating authors such as Stephen Markley, John Steinbeck, Jesmyn Ward, Colson Whitehead, George Orwell, Douglas Coupland and more. He has been lucky enough to translate four of Max Porter's books.
ABOUT MAX PORTER
Max Porter’s first novel, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, won the Sunday Times/Peters, Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award and the International Dylan Thomas Prize, among others, as well as being shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Goldsmiths Prize. Lanny was longlisted for the Booker Prize and was a Sunday Times bestseller and Shy was an instant number one bestseller. Porter has written the adapted screenplay of Shy, filmed by Netflix in 2024. He has also written The Death of Francis Bacon, The Hill, the short film All of this Unreal Time and the pamphlet It’s Going to Be a Bright New Day. His original drama series The Photographer was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. His work has been translated into 33 languages.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is a frequent collaborator with, and mentor to, musicians, artists, theatre makers and arts and literacy charities. He was previously Editorial Director at Granta Books, where he published The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, which won the Booker Prize 2013, and The Vegetarian by Han Kang, winner of the International Booker Prize 2016.
Porter is the Chair of judges for the International Booker Prize 2025.
ABOUT SASKIA VAN DER LINGEN
Saskia van der Lingen is a Dutch literary translator and teacher of the theory and practice of translation. Apart from the books and other texts by Max Porter she translated work of Patrick deWitt, Mohsin Hamid, Maggie Shipstead, and other authors. She also participated for over 15 years in an extensive project resulting in a brand new, literary translation of the Bible. Her translation of Grief is the Thing with Feathers won her and Max Porter the Dutch European Literature Prize in 2017 and was adapted for the stage in 2021.
ABOUT TRANSLATED BY, BRISTOL
Translated By, Bristol is a new festival celebrating translators and translated literature, taking place in Bristol from May 12th - May 25th 2025, founded by author/translator Polly Barton in collaboration with two independent Bristol bookshops (Gloucester Road Books and Storysmith).
The festival will celebrate the art and practice of literary translation, foregrounding the translators themselves.
Events will include in-depth conversations with translators, conversations between renowned authors and their translators, discussions of the translation/publishing process, translation workshops, translation slams and events for children in collaboration with Bristol schools.
The complete programme will feature collaborations with an international range of translators, authors and publishers, held across multiple venues in Bristol.
With a mission to acknowledge the role and contribution of translators across the world, Translated By, Bristol is the first of its kind in our city.
Head to translatedbybristol.com for more information and line-up announcements.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
The event will feature discussions with Max, Saskia and Charles as well as readings in multiple languages, a Q&A and a signing.
This will be an incredibly rare and cool chance to discover Porter's hugely beloved body of work in a totally illuminating new way - don't miss it!
_
ABOUT CHARLES RECOURSÉ
Charles Recoursé was born in 1982. After an erratic curriculum, he started working for French publisher Au diable vauvert, where he discovered translation working on books by Simon Reynolds and David Foster Wallace. He has been a full-time translator since 2011, translating authors such as Stephen Markley, John Steinbeck, Jesmyn Ward, Colson Whitehead, George Orwell, Douglas Coupland and more. He has been lucky enough to translate four of Max Porter's books.
ABOUT MAX PORTER
Max Porter’s first novel, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, won the Sunday Times/Peters, Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award and the International Dylan Thomas Prize, among others, as well as being shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and the Goldsmiths Prize. Lanny was longlisted for the Booker Prize and was a Sunday Times bestseller and Shy was an instant number one bestseller. Porter has written the adapted screenplay of Shy, filmed by Netflix in 2024. He has also written The Death of Francis Bacon, The Hill, the short film All of this Unreal Time and the pamphlet It’s Going to Be a Bright New Day. His original drama series The Photographer was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. His work has been translated into 33 languages.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is a frequent collaborator with, and mentor to, musicians, artists, theatre makers and arts and literacy charities. He was previously Editorial Director at Granta Books, where he published The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, which won the Booker Prize 2013, and The Vegetarian by Han Kang, winner of the International Booker Prize 2016.
Porter is the Chair of judges for the International Booker Prize 2025.
ABOUT SASKIA VAN DER LINGEN
Saskia van der Lingen is a Dutch literary translator and teacher of the theory and practice of translation. Apart from the books and other texts by Max Porter she translated work of Patrick deWitt, Mohsin Hamid, Maggie Shipstead, and other authors. She also participated for over 15 years in an extensive project resulting in a brand new, literary translation of the Bible. Her translation of Grief is the Thing with Feathers won her and Max Porter the Dutch European Literature Prize in 2017 and was adapted for the stage in 2021.
ABOUT TRANSLATED BY, BRISTOL
Translated By, Bristol is a new festival celebrating translators and translated literature, taking place in Bristol from May 12th - May 25th 2025, founded by author/translator Polly Barton in collaboration with two independent Bristol bookshops (Gloucester Road Books and Storysmith).
The festival will celebrate the art and practice of literary translation, foregrounding the translators themselves.
Events will include in-depth conversations with translators, conversations between renowned authors and their translators, discussions of the translation/publishing process, translation workshops, translation slams and events for children in collaboration with Bristol schools.
The complete programme will feature collaborations with an international range of translators, authors and publishers, held across multiple venues in Bristol.
With a mission to acknowledge the role and contribution of translators across the world, Translated By, Bristol is the first of its kind in our city.
Head to translatedbybristol.com for more information and line-up announcements.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
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