Translation Across Borders

Cross Cultural Translation Workshop

Translation Across Borders is a series of six public workshops exploring poetry and the art of translation across languages and cultures, with a focus on exile, censorship, and creative resistance. Curated by poet and translator Fatemeh Ekhtesari, each event invites participants into a hands-on translation process, guided by guest writers, translators, and cultural figures from Norway and beyond.

The first workshop took place at Lillehammer Library and Literature House and offered a full afternoon of discussion, learning, and cultural exchange. It began with a conversation between Iranian poet Mehdi Mousavi and Fatemeh Ekhtesari about poetry, censorship, and life in exile. This was followed by a rich discussion on translation between Fatemeh, Samuel Tongue of the Scottish Poetry Library, and Norwegian author Gunstein Bakke.

Participants were then invited to take part in a citizen translation workshop, starting with the translation of idioms between Farsi and Norwegian, before moving into collaborative poetry translation. The session offered insight into the cultural and linguistic challenges of translation, as well as the opportunities it creates for mutual understanding. It served as both an introduction to Iranian literature and a meeting point between the Iranian and Norwegian communities.

The atmosphere was enriched by live Iranian music from Mahboobeh Amooshahi and simultaneous interpretation by Atefe Asadi, ensuring an inclusive experience for all participants