The second edition of the Polish-Ukrainian Translation School ‘Words to Words’, organised by the Mieroszewski Centre, is underway. It is a unique project that brings together literature enthusiasts and budding translators and interpreters, helping them to gain valuable experience, broaden their horizons and build links between Polish and Ukrainian culture.
The workshop programme, which began in January, will run until June 2025. Each meeting is intensive learning, inspiring talks and practical work on literary texts. In this year's edition, participants tackle Ukrainian literature, focusing on translations of Crimean-themed texts in which the region's history and present day are intertwined in unconventional narratives. All translations produced during the workshop will be collected and published in a special anthology - the result of the joint work and commitment of participants and mentors.
The workshop is led by renowned experts: Katarzyna Kotyńska and Marcin Gaczkowski. Their extensive experience, including numerous literary translations and scholarly activities, are an invaluable support for budding translators. The programme includes both masterclasses and workshop work on translations. Participants have the opportunity not only to hone their language skills, but also to learn about the publishing market, the principles of text editing and even the legal aspects of translator's work.
Nine people were selected to participate in the workshop, who stood out from nearly thirty applications. The works submitted for the recruitment process were delightfully diverse - from memoirs of the Polish-Ukrainian struggle for Lviv to contemporary feminist literature and classic literary works.
The Polish-Ukrainian School of Translation is not only education - it is also a space for passion, cooperation and jointly building a literary intercultural dialogue.
The first edition of translation workshops for beginning translators of literature from Ukrainian into Polish - the Polish-Ukrainian School of Translation Words to Words - runs from October 2023 to June 2023. Out of more than 50 people willing to participate in the workshop, 10 have been selected to begin their adventure with translation.
Thanks to us, the participants will learn the whole cycle of the translator's work: from finding out about the publishing market and selecting a text for translation, through analysing a literary text, editing one's own translation, to the legal aspects of the translator's job, obtaining funding and contact with publishing houses and theatres. They will put their acquired knowledge into practice right away - during classes they will work on essays by contemporary Ukrainian authors on culture, its perception, role and place in the modern world. The translations will then be published by the Centre in the form of an anthology.
The workshop comprises nine weekend meetings (Saturday-Sunday). Each of our meetings is divided into two parts: lectures by masters, experienced translators, editors, publishers and experts, and workshop work on translated texts.
