Discussion Group: On Multiplicity: The Book Launch of Translation Multiples

Does translating more than once matter? What happens when translators, poets, and artists expose the act of translation by placing parallel translation variants next to one another in a standalone work of art, presenting each as a legitimate version of the original? During this session, Kasia Szymanska will introduce the new genre of writing she discussed in her newly published book Translation Multiples (PUP 2025). In reading a few "translation multiples" together, we will try to see how an original text can diverge into variants, how such multiplicity can be displayed and embraced, and how this practice can redefine our approach to reading translations.

Dr Kasia Szymanska is a lecturer in Translation Studies at the Centre of Translation & Intercultural Studies at the University of Manchester and the author of Translation Multiples: From Global Culture to Post-Communist Democracy (Princeton UP, 2025). Her research lies in the intersection between literary translation, multilingual writing and politics. She's currently working on two co-edited volumes: The Bloomsbury Handbook to Modernism and Translation (with Rebecca Beasley) and The Tender Translator: Olga Tokarczuk Across Languages (with Joanna T. Huss). Kasia was part of the OCCT organising team from 2014-2022.

Twitter: @kasia_szyma @PrincetonUPress