Two poet-translators rattle their sabres and sharpen their swords for a duel of words and French poetry. Join Sasha Dugdale who talks to Olivia McCannon and Susan Wicks to compare their translations of a contemporary French poet (shown below).
A translation duel is a fascinating and illuminating way to engage with a brilliant new poem and learn more about the mechanics of poetry translation.
Olivia McCannon is a translator of Balzac and winner of the Jerwood Aldeburgh First Collection Prize.
Susan Wicks’ translations of Valérie Rouzeau have won prizes and her own seventh collection, The Months was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation.
In partnership with Modern Poetry in Translation.
Sponsored by Alison and Nigel Falls
The poems referred to in the recording are shown below.
