Lecture: Taking the Long View in Translating Indonesian Literature

The University of Washington presents

BEYOND NOVELTY AND EXOTICISM:
tAKING THE LONG VIEW IN TRANSLATING INDONESIAN LITERATURE

A public lecture by translator Tiffany Tsao

April 14, 4:30 pm
HUB 332 at UW

Tiffany Tsao will discuss the challenges of translating Indonesian literature in the context of a publishing industry that has tended to value Indonesian works more for their “Indonesianness” than their literary value. Catering to a readership interested specifically in the history, culture, and living conditions of Indonesia has some near-term benefits, but does this approach do Indonesian writing a disservice over the long term? She will discuss, more specifically, how this state of affairs has shaped the decisions she has made as a translator – from the works she has chosen to translate, to her approach to the translation process itself. Open to the public without RSVP. More information is available here.

Tiffany Tsao's translations of Indonesian literature have received the PEN Translation Prize, the Republic of Consciousness Prize, and a longlisting for the International Booker Prize. She is also the author of The Majesties (2018) and But Won’t I Miss Me (2026), and Deputy Editor at the Sydney Review of Books. Her visit to the University of Washington is sponsored by the Lee Scheingold Literary Translator Lecture Fund. Check the NOTIS calendar for other events this week.