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| Aleph Translation Collective | |
|---|---|
| Name | Aleph Translation Collective |
| Formation | 2010s |
| Type | Literary translation collective |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York |
| Region served | International |
| Languages | Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Turkish, Russian, Mandarin |
| Leader title | Coordinating Editors |
Aleph Translation Collective
Aleph Translation Collective is an international group of translators, editors, and scholars focused on bringing literature from Arabic literature, Persian literature, Urdu literature, Turkish literature, Russian literature, and Chinese literature into English. Founded in the 2010s by a circle of translators active in venues like The New York Review of Books, Words Without Borders, and Guernica (magazine), the collective has engaged with authors from regions including Levant, Maghreb, Iran, South Asia, Anatolia, and Xinjiang. Its work intersects with institutions such as Columbia University, New York University, Brooklyn Public Library, and festivals like Pen America and Hay Festival.
The collective emerged from translation initiatives linked to projects at City University of New York, Princeton University, and Harvard University in the early 2010s, when networks around Hisham Matar, Adonis (poet), Naguib Mahfouz, Orhan Pamuk, and Basharat Peer fostered collaborative publishing. Early members published in outlets associated with The New Yorker, Granta, and The Guardian and coordinated panels at Royal Society of Literature and British Library events. Growth coincided with increased grants from organizations such as National Endowment for the Arts, MacArthur Foundation, and PEN International, and partnerships with presses like Penguin Random House, New Directions Publishing, and Bloomsbury Publishing.
The collective states aims aligned with translation communities that include American Literary Translators Association, International Translators Federation, and European Council of Literary Translators. Activities include producing translations for anthologies linked to Pushkin House, curating readings at Brooklyn Book Festival, organizing workshops at Princeton University Press events, and offering internships modeled on programs at Yale University and University of Chicago. The group advocates for translator visibility following debates involving Harvard Review, disputes around prizes such as the Man Booker Prize and National Book Award, and conversations in venues like The New York Times Book Review.
Projects have included contemporary fiction by writers associated with Cairo International Book Fair, poetry from recipients of the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants, short stories translated for anthologies alongside authors like Assia Djebar, essays introducing readers to voices like Mohammad-Reza Shafiei Kadkani, and plays staged with companies such as New York Theatre Workshop and Royal Court Theatre. The collective has worked on translations related to collections published by Columbia University Press, Harvard University Press, Verso Books, and independent imprints like Tilted Axis Press and Two Lines Press.
The coordinating team resembles editorial bodies at The Paris Review and Boston Review, with rotating editors drawn from academics at SOAS University of London, translators affiliated with ALTA, and freelance editors who have taught at Iowa Writers' Workshop and Brown University. Decision-making follows models used by Invisible Publishing Co-op and other collectives formed in response to structures at Faber and Faber and Bloomsbury. Funding and governance have been informed by policies from Independent Sector and grant requirements from Arts Council England.
Collaborations include joint initiatives with Words Without Borders, residency programs at Civitella Ranieri, co-publications with New Directions, and translation workshops sponsored by St. John's College, Cambridge and Princeton University. The collective has coordinated events with cultural institutions such as British Council, Goethe-Institut, Institut français, and literary festivals including Edinburgh International Book Festival and Oslo Literary Festival.
Translated books and excerpts have appeared alongside work by Salman Rushdie, Chinua Achebe, Clarice Lispector, and Gabriel García Márquez in journals like Granta, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Asymptote Journal. Reviews and criticism have been published in outlets such as London Review of Books, The New York Times Book Review, The Guardian, and Times Literary Supplement. Some projects received recognition in longlists and shortlists for awards including the International Booker Prize, PEN Translation Prize, and National Translation Award.
The collective has faced debates similar to controversies involving Haruki Murakami translations and disputes around attribution in cases like Jhumpa Lahiri's translation work, including discussions of crediting practices, compensation modeled against Authors Guild standards, and editorial intervention compared to norms at Faber and Faber and Penguin Classics. Critics in forums such as London Review of Books and panels at PEN America have questioned editorial choices, selection bias towards metropolitan centers like New York City and London, and engagement with political contexts tied to authors from Syria, Iran, Palestine, and Turkey.
Category:Literary translation organizations