Worship and Wrath, Dream and Sleep: Translating the Poetry of Sappho

How many ways can you translate a poem? Come translate the Ancient Greek poet Sappho with us and see for yourself!

In this workshop, participants will be provided with two of Sappho’s poems and an English gloss (don’t worry, you don’t need to know any Ancient Greek!). Together, we’ll explore how a single poem can be translated in multiple ways, and how different interpretations of any given word lead to a myriad of tough choices. We’ll talk about how previous translations, damaged papyrus, and Ancient Greek culture might affect our decisions.

Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of translation’s complexities, along with a few of their own translations of Sappho's poetry.

This workshop is part of the Translators' House residency at East Bristol Books and follows the release of Grace's chapbook *Sappho: A Translating*, the inspiration for this workshop.

East Bristol Books - EBB
Wednesday, 2nd December
18:15 to 20:00
12 West Street, BS2 0BH
Old Market

Bio:

Grace Calk is poet and Ancient Greek translator. She holds an MA in Literary Translation from the University of East Anglia and a BA from St. John’s College, Annapolis. Grace has studied Ancient Greek for over thirteen years, beginning in her early teens. Her work focuses on methods of formal experimentation that shed new light on ancient literature.