Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 13h

Hear, hear! A translator who has labored long and hard in the vineyards--I can't think of anyone who deserves this more!

Sasha Senderovich 🌻 @returnstosender.bsky.social · 13h

Really excited for Seattle’s own Shelley Fairweather-Vega for being named, together with the Uzbek-language author Hamid Ismailov, a finalist for the 2025 National Book Awards (in the Translated Literature category). www.nationalbook.org/books/we-com... @nationalbook.bsky.social

We Computers: A Ghazal Novel - National Book Foundation

In the late 1980s, French poet and psychologist Jon‑Perse finds himself in possession of one of the most promising inventions of the century: a computer. Enchanted by snippets of Persian poetry he lea...

www.nationalbook.org

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 1d

Fabulous small museum that gives a good home to local poets--please support them if you can!

MoCo Underground Writers Showcase [Julia Tagliere] @mocounderground.bsky.social · 1d

Hey, friends, you know how I love my little local Sandy Spring Museum, where I’ve hosted the Writers Showcase since 2019? They’re doing a big Founder Day fundraiser today; it’d mean so much to me if you’d check it out: givebutter.com/SSMFoundersD...
Every little bit helps, thank you! Mwah! ❤️🙏🏻🥳🌻

Sandy Spring Museum - Founders' Day of Giving

Celebrate the founding of Sandy Spring Museum. Make your gift today!

givebutter.com

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

American Literary Translators Association @littranslate.bsky.social · 8d

Interested in learning more about one country’s long-overshadowed literary tradition? Check out this list of ten important Ukrainian books in translation, featuring two of ALTA member Nina Murray’s translations. At Lit Hub: buff.ly/M4W0HqC @literaryhub.bsky.social

Ten Titles in Translation That Celebrate Ukraine

For decades, Ukraine remained in the shadow of the Russian imperial discourse. Foreign readers had access to only a limited number of translations of Ukrainian literature. Today, fortunately the nu…

lithub.com

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 6d

Remarkable, moving piece by @enaselimo.bsky.social!

Women* Write the Balkans @womenwritebalkans.bsky.social · 6d

We're immensely proud to share with you "Airborne," a new story by @enaselimo.bsky.social:
www.womenwritethebalkans.com/essays/airbo...

"According to Bosnian documents, he is a traitor. According to Turkish documents, he is a spy. According to American documents, he is an alien. According to them all, he is to be put in no position to help others or himself."
Ena Selimović: Airborne
Illustration: gray and black embroidery of B-2 bomber patent drawings on a blue background

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 9d

Tonight at Busboys & Poets on 14th St. in DC, a celebration of writing in translation, with readings from Hindi, Tamil,

Polish, Faroese, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian,

Croatian, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and more. Join us!
cheusecenter.gmu.edu/events/17170

Let's Talk: International Writers Festival

Monday, September 29, 2025 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT: Marta Sanz, writer-in-residence from Spain kicks off a night of international writers talking...

cheusecenter.gmu.edu

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Lawrence Schimel @lawrenceschimel.bsky.social · 10d

👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

Sara Horcas-Rufián @sarahorcas.bsky.social · 10d

We should stop using the term "translating" when we are talking about what automatic translation systems can do. What they do is processing texts (to try and replicate it using words from a different language). Translating is a human ability.

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 13d

I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Alex Zucker @alexzucker.bsky.social · 16d

📢 Translators, you too can join the @alcs.co.uk and get paid for having your books checked out of the library.

A lifetime membership costs just £36. They take it out of your first payment, so you don’t pay a penny up front.

Since I joined in 2020, I have received £515.45! What are you waiting for?

ALCS @alcs.co.uk · 16d

🥳 This week, we will pay 31,487 members their share of £11,588,572!

Find out more:
www.alcs.co.uk/news/your-di...

Your distribution questions answered

This week, we will pay 31,487 members their share of £11,588,572. Get answers to your most pressing questions about our latest distribution.

www.alcs.co.uk

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 27d

Same here. Thanks, @uilleamblacker.bsky.social, for stating the problem--and some possible solutions--so succinctly.

Dr Sarah J Young @sarahjyoung.bsky.social · 27d

Brilliant, thought-provoking essay by my colleague @uilleamblacker.bsky.social - as a russianist who fully accepts that I have contributed this problem, I’d welcome the sort of institutional change Uilleam argues for here, and am trying to work towards that. www.eurozine.com/russia-is-no...

Russia is not the sea

Imperial Russia saw the nation as the sea into which all the other Slavic cultures flowed. The idea persists today not only in Russia's attitude towards its neighbourhood, but also in the way eastern ...

www.eurozine.com

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 28d

Just to say that the publisher is aware of the problem and is actively working to correct it.

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 28d

I am so sorry--this is the first I'm hearing of it! I will make inquiries!

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 28d

Thank you, Julia!

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · 28d

Grateful to National Translation Month for featuring my translation of Akram Aylisli's "People and Trees" in today's Substack post. Aylisli is Azerbaijan's most important contemporary writer; his books were burned in Azerbaijan in 2013. nationaltranslationmonth.substack.com/p/the-tale-o...

Excerpt From "The Tale of the Silver Tweezers" by Akram Aylisli, Translated by Katherine E. Young

This passage from "The Tale of the Silver Tweezers" ends the 3 novellas of Akram Aylisli's best-known work, "People and Trees" (Plamen Press, 2024), translated by Katherine E. Young. #TranslationMonth

nationaltranslationmonth.substack.com

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

John Roche @jr-placitas.bsky.social · Sep 6

What the bloody hell?

www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...

‘I escaped a Russian prison — only to end up in an American jail’

Dozens of Russian dissidents have been expelled from the US and forcibly returned to Russia with the co-operation of immigration authorities

www.thetimes.com

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · Sep 4

Love this, Yelena--I also have a double or two (common name!)!

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Katherine E. Young @katherineeyoung.bsky.social · Sep 3

Excited to be taking part in both these September events with the marvelous @enaselimo.bsky.social, @leeyamehta.bsky.social, @kktranslation.bsky.social, and so many other wonderful writers and translators. Join us!

Ena Selimović @enaselimo.bsky.social · Sep 3

Two exciting events I'm honored to be a part of—this month!
@leeyamehta.bsky.social @katherineeyoung.bsky.social

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Brian Bergstrom @brianbergstrom.bsky.social · Aug 31

Jeremy Tiang really hits the nail on the head here (as would be expected).

Translation is caught between two forms of capitalist exploitation: using a per-word freelance structure to provide a bare minimum fee, and playing on its artistic nature to compel free ancillary labor alongside

Tiang: As Maureen alluded to, when we sign a contract, we get paid for our translations. But, in fact, we’re also doing a lot of other labor that is expected but not compensated. This can start way before the contract is signed. Many of us are pitching books to publishers, and to do that, we have to be reading wisely. We have to be making contact with authors and publishers to make sure that the rights are available. We have to do sample translations and synopses, for free, and we have to email them to publishers that we have taken care to build relationships with. All of this is unpaid until a publisher accepts the book, at which point you are negotiating for money after having done a lot of labor. And then there is, as Adam has pointed out, a power differential where the only power the translator has is to say, “This is what I would like.”

Beyond that, all you can do is accept what you’re offered or walk away. In one sense, you’re being paid for the labor of your translation. But in another sense, you’re an all-around concierge who, in my case because many of my authors do not speak English, is expected to translate emails between the author and the publisher, to act as a kind of go-between: an agent, a rights agent, and a publicist all in one. We do what has to be done in order to get the translation to market, and often we are the only person in the equation with access to both languages and both cultures and both literary scenes, so we’re the only person who can do this work. But it’s not in our contracts, and we’re not getting paid for it. But it’s what has to happen to keep everything running.

Tiang: Honestly, any kind of disruptive solution would be great. I am someone who makes the majority of my income from literary translation, even though my language isn’t particularly in demand. I do this by pitching a lot, generating a lot of my own work, never taking a day off, not sleeping. And that’s not really sustainable. The question for someone like me, who is relatively established and working constantly translating three to four books a year, is: Should I not be making a living? The fact that I am not suggests a problem with sustainability in the industry. It can’t just be people with outside sources of income. But I will say that this conversation has been hugely generative, and I’m going to suggest we start a group chat and continue it.

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

SRtwofourfour @srtwofourfour.bsky.social · Aug 31

stopicealert.ddns.net/login/?alert...

ICE Raid Alert: 6210 seven corners center, falls church, va 22041

2 black chevy suburbans with government tags. several agents inside unidentified in plain clothes and ear pieces. 6210 seven corners center, falls church, va 22041

stopicealert.ddns.net

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Poetry Translation Centre @poetrytranslation.bsky.social · Aug 25

Don't miss this fantastic event on Sudanese literature if you're in Sheffield this Wednesday!

Featuring incredible readings and discussions, including by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, author of the PTC poetry collection 'A Friend's Kitchen' (tr. Bryar Bajalan + Shook)!

English PEN @englishpen.bsky.social · Aug 1

Join us at 6.30pm, 27 Aug, in partnership with @cityofsanctuaryuk.bsky.social Sheffield, for an evening of readings and discussion with @yassmin.bsky.social, Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, Salma Ali, Adil Babikir & @mayadamayadamay.bsky.social.

Book now ⤵️
www.englishpen.org/posts/events...

An Evening of Sudanese Literature - News & Events - English PEN

www.englishpen.org

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

JJ in DC @jjindc.bsky.social · Aug 22

🧊😲✈️ CHILD IN CHAINS‼️

👉 Thursday August 21, 2025 at Boeing Field in Seattle, we spotted this apparent girl in chains being directed up the steps of an Avelo Airlines 737 (tail: N805VL) on the live web cam feed from the airport 👀

(clip courtesy lalabote.bsky.social)

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

ottilie mulzet @ottiliemulzet.bsky.social · Aug 23

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Protests as newborn removed from Greenlandic mother after ‘parenting competence’ tests

Danish authorities take one-hour-old infant despite law banning the tests on people with Greenlandic backgrounds

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Clint Smith @clintsmithiii.bsky.social · Aug 22

I debated writing this. It can feel tempting, upon encountering yet another instance of this administration’s racism, to let it be. How many ways can you say the same thing over and over again? And yet we have to write it down, if for nothing else, so those who come after us know we were against it.

Actually, Slavery Was Very Bad

The president’s latest criticism of museums is a thinly veiled attempt to erase Black history.

www.theatlantic.com

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Blue Virginia @bluevirginia.bsky.social · Aug 21

Winsome Earle-Sears to Target Arlington Public Schools at Tonight’s School Board Meeting; Rally Planned to Show “that Arlington will not be bullied into doing what is wrong for our students"; "Likely Earle-Sears will bring press and outside agitators to the event." bluevirginia.us/2025/08/wins...

Winsome Earle-Sears to Target APS at Tonight’s School Board Meeting; Rally Planned From 6:15-7:15 pm to Show “that Arlington will not be bullied into doing what is wrong for our students “

From former Arlington County Board Chair/member Libby Garvey (who also served 15 years on the Arlington School Board): Winsome Earle-Sears to Target APS at Tonight’s School Board Meeting Dear Friends:...

bluevirginia.us

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · Aug 19

Looking to speak to someone in the DC National Guard on background.

Message me on signal at marisakabas.04

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Reposted by Katherine E. Young

Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · Aug 18

I'm preparing to publish the next installment of AI Killed My Job. This time, the focus will be on translators.

If you or someone you know has had a translation job (including translator, interpreter, game localizer, etc) impacted by AI, and you'd like to share, please do: [email protected]

Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · Jun 26

AI is being used to justify firing workers at major tech companies, leaving those that remain to pick up the pieces.

AI code is being shoveled into crucial Google products, replacing trainers at TikTok, and worse.

This, in tech workers' own words, is how AI is killing jobs in Silicon Valley.

AI Killed My Job: Tech workers

Tech workers at TikTok, Google, and across the industry share stories about how AI is changing, ruining, or replacing their jobs.

www.bloodinthemachine.com

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