As part of our commitment to collective possibility, we are launching our first-ever online workshop series, Creative Contagion. Featuring Kaya writers, translators, editors, and community members, we seek to create an accessible and open space to experiment, generate new work, and sow the seeds of new possibilities.

Workshops will be hosted on Zoom and are open to writers and readers of all experience levels at a sliding fee scale. Sign up below and email info@kaya.com with any questions. After you sign up, you’ll receive a confirmation email and the private zoom link will be sent out three days before the workshop. All workshops will be recorded to be shared with registered participants only. We can’t wait to create with you!

Rules of the Game with Sophie Lee – Saturday, August 21 from 11 am-1 pm pst / 2 pm-4 pm est via Zoom. Sliding fee scale $60-100. All proceeds go towards publishing and programming here at Kaya, an independent non-profit publisher.  

Workshop description:

When it comes to translation, what counts as cheating? Should we stick closely to the text in the original, or do we win something by taking a stylistic risk? In this two-hour workshop, Kaya translator Sophie Lee, will walk participants through her translation process using examples from an in-progress Kaya translation by Alexander Kan. Participants will be guided through short, generative exercises that use the act of translation as the basis for creative work. This workshop is ideal for readers, writers, translators at any level and those who are curious about how the constraints of translation can open new creative modes. Participants are welcome to bring a short piece (up to 300 words) in either English or another language to translate. Translations from English to English can involve a play with tone/style/genre. Registration is capped at 10 participants.

Facilitator bio:
Sophie Lee is a PhD candidate in Slavic literature at UC Berkeley, where she has focussed on twentieth and twenty-first century Central Asian literature and diasporic Korean history. In her translation practice Sophie works with Russian, German and French, and she is currently learning Qazaq. She spent time with Aleksandr Kan in Almaty in 2023 and feels grateful to be able to translate in dialogue with her authors.