Visiting Writers

Deborah Smith

Residency Period
10 to 31 October 2021 (Online)

Deborah Smith was born in 1987 in a small town in South Yorkshire, England. She began learning Korean in 2010, and became a literary translator specialising in contemporary Korean fiction. Her translations include three books by Han Kang – The Vegetarian, Human Acts and The White Book – and four by Bae Suah, most recently Untold Night and Day. 

In 2015 Deborah founded Tilted Axis, a non-profit press focusing on translations from Asian languages: Turkish, Uzbek, Bangla, Nepali, Tamil, Kannada, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Cebuano, and Hindi. Upcoming books include translations from Arabic (Yemen) and Telugu, as well as anthologies of Queer Poetry from South Asia and mixed-genre pieces on Decolonising Translation. 

These days she is taking time out to think about supporting translation as an anti-colonial and anti-capitalist practice. She translates little and slowly, mainly poetry, and her other translation work involves mentoring, learning to live in India, and engaging with Tibetan Buddhism. 

Awards

  • Man Booker International Prize for ‘The Vegetarian’ – 2016
  • Arts Foundation Award for Literary Translation – 2016 
  • LTI Korea Translation Award (for The Vegetarian) – 2016 
  • Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature – 2018 
  • Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize (for The White Book) – 2018
  • Shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award (for Human Acts) – 2018 
  • Shortlisted for the Women in Translation Prize (for The White Book) – 2018 

Publications – Literary Translation from Korean to English

  • Unknown Nights and Days by Bae Suah, Jonathan Cape 2020
  • The White Book by Han Kang, Portobello 2017
  • North Station by Bae Suah, Open Letter 2017
  • The Accusation by Bandi, Grove / Serpent’s Tail 2017
  • Recitation by Bae Suah, Deep Vellum 2017
  • A Greater Music by Bae Suah, Open Letter 2016
  • Human Acts by Han Kang, Portobello 2016, Crown 2017 US
  • The Vegetarian by Han Kang, Portobello 2015 UK, Crown 2016 US

 Literary Focus

  • Exploring translation practices for understanding our world, our lives, each other

Courses & Events

 

Date / Venue Programme Activities
4 workshops on 10, 24, 31 October, 7 November 2021 (Sundays)
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm SGT

Online course
$150 for 4 sessions*

(Foundation, Intermediate & Advanced Translators & Writers)

 [Course Completed]

Translation Contexts

This course of seminars will cover the craft of literary translation, contemporary issues in translation, and cultural production and reception more broadly, informing how we talk about our texts, languages, authors, and work. Participants will deepen their sense of the craft and cultural politics of translation, and be encouraged to cultivate critical awareness of their own position. Together we will learn ways to act for a more accessible, equitable, and self-aware translation community, both on and off the page.

Course code: DS1

More information here

 

* Concession rates available for students, unemployed, low income migrant workers & free for undergraduates from Singapore tertiary institutions.

Publications

Full Programme Schedule
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