Blog Archives

The lost soul – zgubiona dusza

Posted on 1 February 2021 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — 1 Comment

The man was moving so fast he had completely forgotten why he was moving at all. So he went to see a wise woman. And the wise woman said, “Slow down. You have to wait for your soul to catch…

Honey, I Killed the Cats

Posted on 10 September 2019 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

After translations into dozens of languages, this has taken seven years to appear in English, but the wait is worth it. A twentysomething woman in the States, still hopelessly single when…

Tagged with: Benjamin Paloff, books, Deep Vellum, Dorota Masłowska, Honey I killed the Cats, Marcin Nowak, Polish, Translation
Posted in books, translation

Accomodations

Posted on 1 July 2019 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

Wiola is growing up. We are still growing up in parallel. She is a student in Poland exactly when I am a student in Poland, the academic session of 1995/1996. Except I’m in Warsaw for a year of my degree,…

Tagged with: Accommodations, books, Jennifer Croft, Polish, Translation, Wioletta Greg
Posted in books, translation

Swallowing Mercury

Posted on 24 October 2018 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — 2 Comments

Wioletta Greg is frankly fantastic, and Eliza Marciniak has rendered her voice in English delightfully. A good friend gave this translation of Swallowing Mercury for my birthday, and her only concern was that I might have it already, but I might not…

Tagged with: books, Eliza Marciniak, National Translation Award, Polish, Swallowing Mercury, Translation, Wioletta Greg
Posted in books, history, literature, translation

Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Posted on 12 September 2018 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

It can be both easier and harder to translate an author who is so aware of the translation process herself. The heroine of this novel and her friend are translating Blake into Polish; they come up with multiple versions of…

Women in Translation Month: Ginczanka

Posted on 9 August 2017 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

Whenever I am in Warsaw, there are a couple of bookshops near the university that I have to visit. I always come out with something unexpected that keeps me going till I can come back to Poland. This time, the…

Tagged with: Marek Kamiński, Mądrość jak rozkosz, Poetry, Polish, Translation, Women in Translation Month, Zusanna Ginczanka
Posted in books, gender, poetry, translation

stories from Abulafia Street

Posted on 5 October 2016 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

The Short Story Project brings you a new story every week from around the globe, online, for free. The stories are in Hebrew, English and the language of origin, and best of all, you can listen or read, so the app…

the best children’s book in the world?

Posted on 14 September 2016 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

The Book Trust is looking for the world’s best children’s books to translate into English. Nominations for In Other Words are open until 26 September and the top ten will be presented with sample translations at the Bologna Book Fair…

A Polish contribution to statistics

Posted on 28 June 2016 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

Almost 52 per cent of voters in a small group of islands off the west coast of Europe have decided to leave. The immediate result has been panic, fear – and a racist backlash, hitting the biggest minority of non-UK citizens,…

Tagged with: Clare Cavanagh, EU Referendum, Polish, Stanisław Barańczak, Translation, Wisława Szymborska
Posted in international, poetry, translation

Gathering to scatter the dark

Posted on 11 May 2016 by Kate Sotejeff-Wilson — Leave a comment

Last weekend I went to a big birthday party. It was a chance to catch up with over a hundred family and friends, and family of family and friends of friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen for some years,…