Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been canceled.
When acclaimed author Geetanjali Shree first released her novel Tomb of Sand(opens in a new tab) in 2018, it pushed the boundaries of experimental Hindi literature. After the publication of an English translation by Daisy Rockwell, Tomb of Sand received the 2022 International Booker Prize, becoming the first work originally written in a South Asian language to do so.
Shree, the award-winning novelist of Mai(opens in a new tab) and The Empty Space(opens in a new tab) has crafted a playful feminist epic following Ma, an inimitable 80-year-old matriarch living in northern India. Reeling from the death of her husband, Ma’s life changes after her son gives her a magical golden cane covered in butterflies. She sets off on an unconventional adventure, ditching her saris and embarking on a journey that upends her family. Subversive, entertaining, and completely original, Tomb of Sand explores borders, the gender binary, and cultural diversity.
Daisy Rockwell, the award-winning translator of Krishna Sobti’s A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There(opens in a new tab), received the 2023 Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award for her stunning translations of books in Hindi and Urdu. Shree and Rockwell collaborated over two years to craft the brilliant English-language version of Tomb of Sand. Join these two women for a fascinating conversation on the novel, the boundaries of language, and the relationship between writer and translator.
This is a hybrid event. Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell will appear in person at The Center for Fiction in Brooklyn (1:00pm ET). A live remote viewing will be held in San Francisco (10:00am PT) at the Center for the Art of Translation (582 Market Street, Suite 700). You can also livestream this event worldwide.
About The International Library
This event is part of The International Library, a series launched in collaboration with the American Library in Paris(opens in a new tab), Center for the Art of Translation, and the London Library(opens in a new tab) offers conversations across time, place, and language. The International Library celebrates the live diffusion of in-person conversations in the hope of connecting new audiences across land and sea for a collective, intercultural experience. These conversations broach deeper questions about writing and translation as we learn to think critically about how stories are told, investigating the points of view, the timing of the translations, and the intended or assumed audiences as well as inspiration, philosophy, and craft.
Geetanjali Shree is the author of five novels, including Tomb of Sand, for which she was awarded the 2022 International Book Prize, and several story collections. Her work has been translated into English, French, German, Serbian and Korean and has received numerous accolades. She lives in New Delhi.
Daisy Rockwell is a painter, writer and translator living in Vermont. She has translated a number of classic works of Hindi and Urdu literature, including Upendranath Ashk’s Falling Walls, Bhisham Sahni’s Tamas, and Khadija Mastur’s The Women’s Courtyard. Her 2019 translation of Krishna Sobti’sA Gujarat Here, a Gujarat There was awarded the Modern Language Association’s Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Translation Prize.