Fernanda Melchor and Sophie Hughes, "Paradais" (New Directions, 2022)

New Books in Latin American Studies

An interview with Fernanda Melchor, finalist for the International Booker Prize, and author most recently of Paradais (New Directions, 2022). And Sophie Hughes, the English translator of Fernanda’s two novels, and winner of the Pen Translates Award. In a wide-ranging discussion, we touch upon the ways in which translation is akin to friendship, and how a translation can be the greatest interpretation of your work. Fernanda discusses her understanding of violence as inseparable from the story of humanity, and how she sees her style as that which persists after she has let go of the text, while Sophie addresses the question of the translator’s invisibility and the lexicons required for each new writer's work that she takes on. This episode features a bilingual reading from Paradais by Fernanda Melchor. It is not to be missed.

Books Recommended in this episode:

• Juan Rulfo, Pedro Paramo
• José Agustín, De Perfil
• Nona Fernandez, The Twilight Zone
• Marianna Enriquez, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
• Alia Trabucco Zerán, The Remainder
• Andrea Abreu, Dogs of Summer

Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers.

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