Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies

This project, organised by the School of European Languages, Culture and Society and funded as part of the "Intercultural Interaction" pathway of UCL's Grand Challenges, articulates the concept of "Gained in Translation" in a number of carefully-chosen events which celebrate poetry and the arts. Drawing inspiration from Robert Frost's famous dictum ("poetry is what gets lost in translation") we have teamed up with Poet in the City and with the Cervantes Institute to produce a three-part series on "Emotions in Translation" as well as two major events on "Gained in Translation" in which we focus on how poetry is translated into film (21 March 2013), and how ideas are translated across cultures (31 May 2013). We are pleased to announce that  Professor Terry Eagleton, widely regarded as the United Kingdom's most influential living literary critic, will give the keynote at the one-day colloquium on "Gained in Translation" on 31 May 2013.

6. 30 pm 14 February 2013: Cervantes Institute

Emotions in Translation: Mi amor: Spanish Love Poems of the Golden Age: translations and interpretations by Guillermo Carnero (Spain's most famous living poet) & Professor Stephen M. Hart (UCL)

6.30 pm 21 March 2013: Bloomsbury Theatre, UCL

Gained in Translation: From Poetry to Film: Roland-Francois Lack, David Harsent, Graham Henderson

Roland-Francois Lack, 'Voltaire in Wandsworth', a talk about famous French writers in London

Screening of No. 8 New College Street, a documentary about the house where Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine lived in 1873

Screening of House of Knives, which re-creates the passionate relationship between the two poets when they lived at No. 8 New College Street, followed by Q&A with directors and actors. See trailer. To register for this event, please click here.

6.30 pm 16 May 2013: Cervantes Institute

Emotions in Translation: Spanish Love Poems of the Romantic Era: Gustavo Adolfo Becquer: Presentation by literary critic, Professor Derek Flitter (University of Exeter)

10.00am -6.00pm 31 May 2013: One Day Colloquium on "Gained in Translation": JZ Young Lecture Theatre, University College London

One-day colloquium on "Gained in Translation": Panels on "Travelling Texts" (papers by Zoran Milutinovic (SSEES) on Sava Nemanjic, Professor Simon Gaunt (KCL) on Marco Polo, Professor Stephen M. Hart (SELCS) on Santa Rosa de Lima), "Literature in Translation" (papers by Dr Alexander Samson and Dr Gareth Wood) and "Translation and Hip Hop" (chaired by Wen-chin Ouyang; papers by Cristina Moreno Almeida on Moroccan hip hop and Nichola Smalley on Scandinavian hip hop). Key-note speaker at 5.00 pm: Professor Terry Eagleton, "The Problem of Literature and the Question of Culture". Reception: Haldane Room 6.00-7.00pm.

There is a limited number of tickets for this event. To sign up for this event please click here.

6.30 pm 12 September 2013: Cervantes Institute

Emotions in Translation III: Forbidden Love Poetry of the Modern Era: Federico Garcia Lorca: Speakers: Jane Duran and Gloria Lorca, daughter of the poet's younger brother

For more information on these events, please contact the PI of "Gained in Translation", Stephen M. Hart at stephen.malcolm.hart@ucl.ac.uk