Delve into the art and craft of translation in our three-part spin-off series ‘Translators on Translation’, presented in partnership with the John Dryden Translation Competition and the Centre for World Literatures at the University of Leeds.

In this episode Richard Hibbitt, Professor of French & Comparative Literature at the University of Leeds, talks to translator David McCallam, who won third prize in the 2022-23 John Dryden Translation Competition for “No Words but Word-Dough” and “The Feeling” translated from Christophe Tarkos’s French text ‘Il y a pâte-mot’ and ‘Le sentiment’. They discuss why David chose to translate Christophe Tarkos, as well as David’s approach to the process of translation.

The John Dryden Translation Competition is run by the University of Leeds Centre for World Literatures and sponsored by the British Comparative Literature Association and the British Centre for Literary Translation. Prizes are awarded for the best unpublished literary translations of poetry, prose, or drama from any period from any language into English.

The John Dryden Translation Competition 2024 – 2025 is now open. The competition deadline is 5 February 2025. You can find out more about the competition and entering your translation here.

You can read David McCallam’s translations here.