I will be performing in Labyrinth on Sunday 7 April. More info soon.

Op 14 november 2023 organiseert het ELV een studiemiddag in de Bibliotheek Utrecht genaamd 'De vertaler als professional'. Tijdens het programma worden de thema's professionalisering en zichtbaarheid van meerdere kanten belicht. Ondanks dat het beperkte aantal zitplaatsen reeds is volgeboekt, hebben we heuglijk nieuws! Bij deze willen wij literair vertalers uitnodigen zich aan te melden voor de livestream. Lees verder voor informatie over het programma en hoe je je kunt aanmelden voor de livestream.

As part of the international group “Poems for Palestine”, we will be hosting our first online recitation event.

More information about Poems for Palestine:

Workshop 1: Translation Clinic (three groups in-person or online)

Advance sign-up essential, on a first-come-first-served basis

12–1.30pm BST

Three non-language specific workshops (one in person, two online), with participants discussing current hurdles in their practice in a collegial setting, facilitated by established translators.

In-person clinic

Facilitated by Ros Schwartz, twelve participants bring a particular translation challenge they are facing – a word, a phrase, or a wider issue – to discuss with peers. In-person clinic participants must have a specific point they would like to explore in the workshop.

Online clinics (x2)

Facilitated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones and Canan Marasligil, six participants in each online clinic share and discuss challenges they are facing with a text they are currently translating. Online clinic participants must have a specific passage from a text they would like to explore in the workshop, and will be asked to send their translation excerpt to the facilitator in advance, and no later than 12 noon BST on Monday 25 September.

Sign up by clicking the button below (you must have a relevant ITD ticket to sign up).

I have been a member of the Auteursbond (an equivalent of the UK’s Society of Authors, here in the Netherlands where I am based) since 2011. On Thursday 23 February, they are organizing a discussion around diversity in the literary industry. I am very happy to have been invited to share my own experience on the subject. The event is in Dutch and open to members only.

De Auteursbond wil een vereniging zijn voor iedereen die schrijft en daarmee zijn/ haar/ hen brood verdient. Maar als we kijken naar wie er daadwerkelijk lid is, blijkt dat een illusie. Waar is de nieuwe generatie schrijvers/ scenaristen/ vertalers/ journalisten die werkt vanuit een inclusief en divers perspectief? Waarom zit de Auteursbond niet op hun netvlies? Belangrijker nog, waarom reikt de horizon van de Auteursbond niet voorbij wat er al is?

Het antwoord op deze vragen komt alleen door het ongemakkelijke gesprek te voeren. Praat mee!

Met: Gustaaf Peek, Jenny Mijnhijmer, Canan Marasligil e.v.a. Moderator: Chris Keulemans

Beyond Walls, Read My World en het Tropenmuseum nodigen je vanaf 10 september uit voor een nieuwe programmareeks met dichters, schrijvers en spoken word artiesten bij de tentoonstelling Onze koloniale erfenis. We trappen af met storyteller en cabaretier Joshua Timisela. Hierna gaan wij verder met kunstenaars en schrijvers Manuwi C Tokai, Kevin Groen en Nisrine Mbarki. 

In deze serie laten makers zich inspireren door een thema en een door hen gekozen ‘object’. Hun reflecties worden zowel visueel vastgelegd als voorgedragen in de vorm van een live performance waar jij bij mag zijn. In intieme setting gaan we na de performance met elkaar in gesprek. De thema’s van dit najaar zijn:

• Language (Taal),

• Ancestors (Voorouders),

• Resilience (Veerkracht/Verzet)

• en Belonging (Thuis-voelen).

Persoonlijke reflecties op koloniaal erfgoed en hoe kolonialisme doorwerkt tot op de dag vandaag komen niet alleen terug in de tentoonstelling, maar ook in de publieksprogramma’s van komende jaren. Dichter bij Onze koloniale erfenis is hier onderdeel van. 

Live performance & Filmreeks

De performances worden vastgelegd op film en geïntegreerd in een serie shortfilms van poëtische interventies die het thema, de performer, het ‘object’ en het publiek dichter bij elkaar brengt.

Data najaar 2022:

• Zaterdag 10 december met Nisrine Mbarki

I was invited by the Jan Van Eyck Academie in Maastrich to host a conversation between writer in residence Wim Peumans and Sulaiman Addonia. You can watch our talk online:

In What Will They Say, Meltem?, Meltem Halaceli, Müesser Yeniay and Çiler İlhan discussed what role literature and poetry can play in bringing to light violence against women. This event was the live finale of a series of podcasts with the same title by Winternachten programmer Meltem Halaceli. Domestic violence against women and LGBT-groups has increased worldwide and femicide has become a growing problem. Struck by this reality, Meltem Halaceli went in search of her family's feminist values and made a podcast about them. Her mother's eyes were opened by novels and poetry by Turkish, Russian and American authors who wrote about the unequal status of women. In her podcast, Meltem spoke to writers, poets and experts and asked them how they use their knowledge and literature to bring violence against women into the open.

In this live event we first of all met Turkish poet Müesser Yeniay, who recited a number of new poems. In the introduction to her latest collection Sevgiliyle Daimi Konuşma (Endless Conversation with the Loved One) she wrote: "For many Eastern women, poetry is the only place she exists." What does that mean for her poetry? The second guest was Çiler İlhan, who moved to the Netherlands from Turkey in 2017. She spoke about her latest novel Nişan Evi (Engagement House), in which women are seen as commercial objects - a body and nothing more. Her earlier book Sürgün (Exiled) won the EU Literature Prize and was translated into 20 languages. Jazz singer Sanem Kalfa framed the conversation with live music. Canan Marasligil, a translator and writer, moderated the event.

We concluded this program with a screening of the Writers' Monument. Like every year, The Theatre of Wrong Decisions has made made an updated version of their 'digital monument' for the journalists and writers who were murdered. The monument could be seen during the opening of Winternachten, to stand still together, reflect and realize how many people worldwide sacrifice their lives simply by holding the pen and wanting to tell the truth.

English spoken.

Dystopia and poetry - with Iman Mersal, Athena Farrokhzad, Ronelda S. Kamfer (online) and Widad Broco

Dystopia: we know it primarily as an imaginary society with various grim features. A terrifying image of the future, and a rewarding starting point for literature, where speculative stories and science fiction have long since claimed their place. Who's Afraid of the Female Future? was not about "typical" dystopian genres, but dealt with the relationship between dystopia and poetry. Because is poetry not the ideal genre in which socially critical ideas and dreamworlds find their place?

For women, daily reality can already feel dystopian. A grand, glamorous science-fiction tale is not necessary for a personal dystopia; poetry is the genre in which female poets feel at home. In this event you met Egyptian-Canadian poet Iman Mersal, Swedish-Iranian poet Athena Farrokhzad and South African poet Ronelda S. Kamfer (online). What is the relationship of these poets with "dystopia"? How do they imagine the future in their poetry? And is "the house" still a safe space in their dystopian-poetic world?

An intimate event for poetry aficionados, with music by poet/performer Widad Broco, the first female rap artist of the Arabic world, also known for her part in the internationally successful electro-urban music group N3rdistan. Poet and programmer Nisrine Mbarki, who put together this event, defines "dystopia" in the following way: "I see dystopian images of the world as critical images, as alarm signals of what we humans fear. Dystopian images deserve attention and space because they represent a critical voice and can shake us awake. They are a form of commentary on our current society, which is based on the liberal and capitalist system of prosperity, and therefore also the exploitation of people and the earth. We had better listen closely to such commentary."

English spoken.

It was a pleasure to interview Hengameh Yaghoobifarah for the launch of their novel Ministry of Dreams in the Netherlands.

You can listen to our conversation on the SLAA/Read My World Current Literary Affairs podcast.

I have been invited by Princeton University to give a talk on my vision of translation. This is part of their ongoing series of talks on translation.

In this talk, I draw upon my multi-hyphenated experiences as a writer, a literary translator, an artist, and a cultural programs curator to tell my personal journey and (hi)story which have taken me across languages, countries, cultures, cities, media, and genres; transforming translation into an artistic practice or into a common space for diverse voices to create with their own languages. I start with my core belief that one translates with their biography, illustrating how this stance has fed my life and work throughout the years, how it is linked to “movement” in its many definitions, and the opportunities it gives to think about translation in but also outside of the book; always in movement.

I am very happy to have been invited by the Goethe Institut London to be part of this event in the frame of International Translation Day.

Here’s a description from their website:

To mark this year's ITD the Goethe-Institut London is looking at the political responsibilities of the translator in our turbulent times. How can translators take an activist role, and is it their responsibility to do so?

Taking part in the discussion are three protagonists whose work reflects on the role of translation in debates surrounding post-colonial literatures, gender and race, and their associated power structures. The discussion will be moderated by Charlotte Ryland of the Stephen Spender Trust, and will feature contributions from Anna von Rath of poco.lit and Canan Marasligil, a literary translator.

This online event is part of the Goethe-Institut's Artificially Correct project, which aims to strengthen the position of translators by developing a conscious approach to Machine Translation, and promoting awareness of social diversity and inclusion.

I’m thrilled to announce that the Creative Translators Workshop Open Call I have been developing with Read My World is now.

Please read the call for complete details. Here are some quick practicalities:
- Send interest by 31 May (details on what and how in the call)
- We e-mail everyone back on 03 June
- Workshop dates: Monday 28 June to Friday 02 July
- Location: in Amsterdam and online (so participation from anywhere in the world will be possible)
- Participation is free, the purpose is to create the translators' team of this year's festival, which means that some of the participants will be able to get freelance paid work (I insist on the "some", it will be a collective decision based on participation, skills, time...)

Please note I will answer all questions personally (via e-mail or social media) until 10 May then after 25 May when I will be back from my offline time (I will take off social media, e-mails, whats app, all online communications and work between 11 and 25 May). You can also always e-mail info@readmyworld.nl and my colleagues will respond.

I have the immense pleasure to host a conversation with writer Sulaiman Addonia, to celebrate and present the translation of his novel Silence is My Mother Tongue into Dutch: Stilte is mijn moedertaal translated by Irwan Droog, published by Jurgen Maas.

I had read the book already of course, and as I was going to dive into the story again, to prepare for our conversation, an image I had cut from the Chantal Akerman exhibition at EYE last summer, fell from a page. There are always so many layers and complexities in how we receive a story, wrapped within our own experiences and imagination. And then there’s the experiences and imagination of the writer, generously pouring its heart and soul into their words, for you…

I see I have highlighted this line from the book. It had moved me then, it moves me even more today.

I cannot wait to be in conversation with Sulaiman Addonia and listen to his poetic journey

The event will be in English and live-streamed.
You can book your free ticket on Perdu’s website (do give a donation if you can, Perdu does wonderful work with a team of volunteers passionate about literature and poetry).

In February 2020, following a 2-year long collaboration with cultural organisation Mine de Culture(s) in Northern France, I have conducted a series of conversations with locals, as well as with writer Fanny Chiarello, on languages, multilingualism, translation, migration, identity and more… in the region called the Bassin Minier (former mining area near Lille). We now have a beautiful documentary film which will be premiered online on ILtv on 30 April, followed by a conversation with me via ZOOM. The event will be in French.

Le vendredi 30 avril 2021 à partir de 20h : assistez à l'avant-première du documentaire "Histoire(s) collective(s) - Carte Blanche à Canan Marasligil" sur ILTV, la télé du bassin minier.

La diffusion du film documentaire sera suivie d'un échange avec Canan Marasligil animé par les membres de l'association Mine de culture(s) sur ZOOM.

Pour recevoir le lien de l'échange avec Canan Marasligil sur Zoom : inscrivez-vous par mail à l'adresse : suzie.balcerek@yahoo.fr

Né du besoin de raconter le métissage linguistique du Bassin minier des Hauts-de-France, « Histoire(s) Collective(s) » nous emmène à la rencontre de Mickaellia, Alejandra, Jean Bruno, Bilal et Fabrice. Elles et ils nous partagent avec générosité leur quotidien, leur(s) langue(s), leur(s) histoire(s) individuelle(s).

D'Hénin-Beaumont à Lens, Canan Marasligil, traductrice, autrice et artiste multi-média, cherche à révéler la pluralité de ces parcours. Elle interroge et s'interroge sur la présence des langues, sur leur co-existence au sein d'une même vie ou d'une même ville. Ce faisant, elle met en lumière des
éléments d'une histoire collective.

A l'occasion d'un échange avec Fanny Chiarello, autrice et photographe, elles évoquent l'expression individuelle, les langues, les identités et mettent en pièce les discours normatifs.

Ce melting pot d'expériences singulières nous invite à redéfinir notre imaginaire collectif et dessine un nouveau paysage de ce territoire chargé d'histoire avec altruisme, humour et émotion.

Ce film a été réalisé par Antoine Giezek pour le compte de l'association Mine de culture(s), basée à Hénin-Beaumont, dans le cadre d'une résidence de Canan Marasligil débutée en 2018 dans le Bassin minier des Hauts-de-France, et qui a bénéficié du soutien de la Région Hauts-de-France et de la Communauté d'Agglomération Hénin-Carvin.