A Universe with No Edges: Swahili Literature in Translation
AWP Conference | Seattle Convention Center | Seattle, WA
An African language of connectivity and diversity, Swahili is spoken across east Africa and the Indian Ocean. The Swahili literary tradition is centuries-old, yet little of it has been translated into English. Three translators and one editor discuss their contributions to contemporary translated Swahili literature, including the new collection No Edges: Swahili Stories from Two Lines Press, and efforts to make it more widely available with the director of the Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize.
This event is part of the 2023 AWP Conference and Bookfair(opens in a new tab). In-person registration(opens in a new tab) to AWP 2023 is required to attend.
Munyao Kilolo is a writer and translator. He is the founder and editor in chief of Ituĩka – A Literary platform devoted to African languages and translation and is director of the Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature. He previously served as the managing editor of Jalada Africa.
Idza Luhumyo is a Kenyan writer. She is the winner of the 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing.
Richard Prins is a New Yorker who has lived, worked, studied, and recorded music in Dar es Salaam. His poems and essays have appeared in publications such as Gulf Coast, jubilat and Plougshares and received “Notable” mentions in Best American Essays and Best American Travel Writing. His translations from Swahili have received a 2023 Pen/Heim Translation Fund grant.
Jay Boss Rubin is a writer and translator from Portland, Oregon. His translations from Swahili to English have been published by or are forthcoming from Two Lines Press, Yale University Press, Asymptote, The Common, The Hopkins Review and Northwest Review. He is a graduate of the Queens College, City University of New York MFA Program in Creative Writing and Literary Translation.
Kelsey McFaul is part of the editorial staff at Two Lines Press. She has a PhD in literature from UC Santa Cruz with a focus in African language literatures. She first joined Two Lines as a Public Fellow in 2020–21, supporting the creation of No Edges: Swahili Stories.