Translation workshop and literary critics in conversation with Suzanne Kristensen

20 Nov Translation workshop and literary critics in conversation with Suzanne Kristensen

On Thursday, November the 6th, we presented a double bill at the KROKODIL Center with Suzanne Kristensen, a Danish-Norwegian author and literary critic, who stayed at the KROKODIL’s Writer in residece programme throughout October and November as the 150th guest of this program since its beginning in 2012.

The first event was a translation workshop, where students of Scandinavian languages from the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, along with their professor Nataša Ristivojević-Rajković, participated together with Suzanne Kristensen. During this workshop, the students had the opportunity to discuss possible translations of her texts with the author herself, talk about linguistic differences, difficulties, and uncertainties encountered during translation, and explore ways to resolve them. They also learned more about her work and her creative journey, which includes writing essays, literary criticism, and novels.

After successfully completing the workshop with the students, we organized a discussion with literary critics to compare the relationship with literary criticism, its current role and place both in Serbia/Balkans and in Norway/Scandinavia. Moderated by Vladimir Arsenijević, the discussion included Suzanne Kristensen, along with literary critics Dunja Ilić (Booksa, Partizanska knjiga…), Đorđe Krajišnik (Oslobođenje, Danas…), Sara Arsenović (Radio Beograd 2, Vredno priče…), and Katarina Kostić (Prerazmišljavanje, Knigoložnica…). The event was attended by the Norwegian ambassador, Kristin Melsom.

The literary critics and the audience were primarily interested in the similarities and differences between the Danish and Norwegian languages and how this relationship can be compared to our regional languages. Suzanne Kristensen explained how the working process with Danish and Norwegian collaborators takes place to ensure that writing and translation between these two languages are as relevant as possible. The discussion then touched on current topics such as negative criticism and the position of literary influencers on social media, their contribution to the reading community, and how roles like these are becoming part of the process of publishing and promoting literary works worldwide. All of this was concluded in a cheerful and friendly atmosphere, bringing the double bill to a close, and marking the end of Suzanne Kristensen’s month-long stay at the KROKODIL’s Writer in residency programme.