Dispatch from LITLIT 2022
A recap of CAT / Two Lines Press’ return to Los Angeles for the Little Literary Fair!
Three weeks ago, CAT and Two Lines Press made our way out to Los Angeles for LITLIT, or the Little Literary Fair(opens in a new tab)! The annual festival, which ran from July 30 to 31 this year and is hosted by the Los Angeles Review of Books(opens in a new tab) (LARB), gathers independent presses and publications at Hauser & Wirth’s(opens in a new tab) gorgeous outdoor space in Downtown LA for a weekend of bookselling, events, food, printmaking, and more. Between the beauty of the space, the kindness of the visitors the participants, and the staff, and the palpable joy in the air, LITLIT was a welcome oasis of literary engagement and community building.
As co-sponsors of LITLIT, we partnered with LARB to co-host a panel titled The Art of Translation. Magdalena Edwards, herself a translator from Spanish and Portuguese, moderated a conversation between three literary translators— Bruna Dantas Lobato, Robin Myers, and Andrew Way-Leong. The panelists discussed how they first came to literary translation, how they evoke humor and approach affect across cultural and idiomatic differences between languages, and read excerpts of their work. Dantas Lobato read from her translation of the short story collection Moldy Strawberries(opens in a new tab) by Brazilian author Caio Fernando Abreu, Myers read from her translation of The Dream of Every Cell(opens in a new tab) by Mexican poet Marciela Guerrero, and Leong read from his translation of Lament in the Night(opens in a new tab) by Japanese novelist Shōson Nagahara.
The communal feeling of the panel was matched by the warmth of everyone who visited our table. Readers chatted with staff, learned about CAT’s mission, and asked about new and old titles. Both days of the festival were full of new connections with indie presses, LARB affiliates, writers, readers, and other members of LA’s literary community. As we recover from the worst days of the pandemic, this opportunity to connect with others in person— and to do so safely, in such a beautiful outdoor setting— was not taken for granted. We’re grateful to our friends at LARB, the event staff, and all the new and familiar faces who came and said hello.
Don’t forget to check our events page, our Twitter(opens in a new tab), and our Instagram(opens in a new tab) to stay posted on future opportunities to catch CAT / Two Lines Press in person! We hope to see you soon, and we’re already looking forward to LITLIT 2023.
