An Evening with Jon Cho-Polizzi: On Migration and Multilingualism in Contemporary German Literature
Doors at 6:30 pm PT
Goethe-Institut San Francisco | 657 Howard Street | San Francisco, CA
Free admission. Registration is requested.
Explore the vital role of translation in shaping our understanding of contemporary German literature with Dr. Jon Cho-Polizzi, Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize-winning literary translator and Assistant Professor of German at the University of Michigan. In conversation with Tamara Loewenstein (Program Curator for Arts & Culture, Goethe-Institut San Francisco), Cho-Polizzi will delve into themes including migration, identity, and multilingualism, all of which permeate Berlin’s vibrant post-migrant literary scene.
The discussion will focus on Cho-Polizzi’s translations of significant titles including Fatma Aydemir’s Djinns, Sharon Dodua Otoo’s Ada’s Room, Max Czollek’s De-Integrate: A Jewish Survival Guide for the 21st Century (which earned him the 2024 Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize), as well as Your Homeland Is Our Nightmare edited by Fatma Aydemir and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah—a collaborative project he organized and co-edited. Cho-Polizzi’s translations of German texts amplify marginalized voices, adding to critical dialogues on questions of belonging, which hold equal resonance within myriad English-language spaces. The conversation will offer insights into the translator’s process and highlight the importance of translation as a bridge for cultural understanding.
This event is co-presented by the Goethe-Institut San Francisco and the Center for the Art of Translation.
Jon Cho-Polizzi is a literary translator and Assistant Professor of German at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He grew up on the Mendocino Coast and studied Literature, History, and Translation at UC Santa Cruz and Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg before relocating to the East Bay, where he completed a concurrent PhD in German and Medieval Studies at UC Berkeley. His translation works highlight the radical diversity of contemporary German-language literature, with a focus on the Berlin literary scene. Recent book-length translations include Fatma Aydemir’s Djinns, Sharon Dodua Otoo’s Ada’s Realm (which was long-listed for the Dublin Literary Award), and Max Czollek’s De-Integrate: A Jewish Survival Guide for the 21st Century for which he was awarded the 2024 Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize. Jon splits his time living and working between Michigan, Northern California, and Berlin.