São Paulo – This month, when Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwich would turn 80 years old, Editora Tabla is bringing together translators and researchers in Arab literature and history to mark the date. The publishing house is specialized in translating and publishing works from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The next online meeting will take place on Wednesday, 24, and bring together author Milton Hatoum and translators Safa Jubran and Michel Sleiman.
The events are part of a larger event called “Celebrating Mahmud Darwich.” The author was born in the village of Al-Birwe in Galilee, Palestine on March 13, 1941 and is known as “the Palestinian national poet.” Out of his works, the publishing house has published In the Presence of Absence translated by Marco Calil, and earlier this month it released Eleven Planets translated by Michel Sleiman. The second half of the year will see the release of Memory for Forgetfulness translated by Safa Jubran.
This week’s meeting will address the context of the Palestinian literary and artistic production and the challenge of translating these works for the Brazilian audience. The event will be moderated by professor Geraldo Campos, doctor of Philosophy and director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies (CEAI) at the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS).
Speaking at the event will be author Milton Hatoum, who’s also a professor, a sponsor of Tabla and a reader of Darwich. Another speaker will be Safa Jubran, professor of Arabic at the University of São Paulo (USP). At Tabla, Jubran translated The Night Mail by Hoda Barakat into Brazilian Portuguese.
Joining the talks will be Michel Sleiman, a poet, editor, translator and professor of Arabic and Arab literature at USP. Specialized in poetic translation, Sleiman has also translated into Brazilian Portuguese Poem of the Arabs by Al-Shanfara.
On March 30, Tabla will host a live stream to discuss the newly release Eleven Planets, featuring translator and editor Laura Di Pietro. The event takes place at 6 pm, and registration is not required.
The first online meeting dedicated to the Palestinian (pictured above) took place on the 17th. ‘Celebrating Mahmud Darwich | Talk: Darwich’s Palestine’ featured Salem Nasser, Arlene Clemesha and Murilo Meihy and was conducted by Felipe Benjamin.
Quick Facts
Talk: Writing Palestine – 80 Years of Darwich
March 24 at 5 pm
Eleven Planets release
March 30 at 6 pm
The events take plane on Editora Tabla’s YouTube channel
Translated by Guilherme Miranda