Syracuse Symposium Series Event “Creativity in Translation”
As part of the Syracuse Symposium series, Syracuse University Press is hosting a “Creativity in Translation” event on March 26, 2026, from 6 – 7:30 pm in the Hall of Languages, Room 500. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will feature acclaimed Palestinian author Ibtisam Azem, writer of The Book of Disappearance (longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize), and her translator Sinan Antoon. Azem will offer a bilingual reading from the original Arabic novel and its English translation, followed by a conversation with the author and translator on writing, translating, and the reconstruction of narratives across languages, and historical and political borders. The session will conclude with a question-and-answer session engaging students, scholars, and community members.
For thirty years, Syracuse University Press has published English translations of contemporary and classic literature from the Middle East and North Africa. The Middle East Literature in Translation series is one of a kind in its linguistic and geographic range. Recognizing the diversity of the region, the Press publishes works originally issued in Arabic, Turkish and Persian, as well as Uzbek, Urdu and Kyrgyz. The variety of languages showcases the complex transnationality of a part of the world that has long been at the heart of global geopolitics and of far-flung diasporic communities.
The event is sponsored by the Humanities Center, with support from the Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition, Department of English, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, and the Office of the Provost for Strategic Initiatives.