This Friday: Jolyn Phillips’s Bientang Gets Its World Premiere in English, Translated by a Collective of Six Poets
Six poets came together to translate Jolyn Phillips's epic poem, and this Friday, November 13, audiences will hear the result for the first time.
Bientang, originally published in Afrikaans in 2020, is making its English-language world premiere as a live reading at a virtual event hosted by the Africana Studies Global Virtual Forum, through Penn State's Department of Africana Studies.
Phillips's poem has already earned award-winning recognition in its original language. The event marks a new chapter for the work, opening it up to a wider global readership through the rare and intentional effort of a six-poet translation collective. If you have not yet encountered Bientang, this Friday is your first real chance.
Originally published by Brittle Paper.