British Centre for Literary Translation: Poetry Translation Panel

Are you curious about how a poem moves from one language to another? What exactly get 'lost' in translation? Our expert panel of poetry translators, chaired by poetry translator and BCLT director Cecilia Rossi, discuss their work, process, and all things translation.

Juana Adcock is a poet, translator and editor. Her poetry collection I Sugar the Bones (Out-Spoken Press, 2024) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for The Saltires, Scotland's National Book Awards.

Her translation of Laura Wittner’s Translation of the Route (Bloodaxe/PTC, 2024) was longlisted for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation and received a PEN Translates award, as did her translations of the Me'phàà language poet Hubert Matiúwàa. In Mexico, she has published, in Spanish, her poetry collections Manca (Tierra Adentro, 2014), Dolly Parton y la traducción imposible (UANL, 2025) and Barraca del bisonte (UNAM, 2025), and she has performed her poetry at over fifty literary festivals across Europe, Asia and Latin America. She is currently completing a CHASE-funded PhD in Translation Studies at the University of East Anglia, focusing on poetry in indigenous languages of Mexico.

Astrid Alben is a poet, editor and translator. She is the author of Ai! Ai! Pianissimo, and Little Dead Rabbit. Alben self-translated Little Dead Rabbit and this was published as Klein dood konijn by PoëzieCentrum. Her poetry and non-fiction have appeared in literary journals including Granta and the Times Literary Supplement. She has worked with BBC Radio, the Serpentine Gallery and Wellcome Collection, and with performance and animation.

Harriet Truscott’s poetry is widely published in UK poetry journals. She has co-curated two successful literary festivals, hosted open mic events, and performed her own work. Harriet is now studying for a PhD at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich.

The British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) is Britain’s leading centre for the study and support of literary translation. BCLT was founded in 1989 by the late W.G. Sebald. Sebald, also known as Max, was Professor of European Literature here at University of East Anglia (UEA) and a German writer who opted to live in the UK and continue writing in German.

This event is being run by the Cambridge Poetry Festival in collaboration with the BCLT.