Ali Smith: Living Translation, Southbank Centre

Ali Smith heads up what looks to be a vital and fascinating conversation that will grapple with the subject of literary translation. We can’t think of a more suitable contemporary writer to address this issue than the Man Booker shortlisted author, famed, as a modern day Virginia Woolf for her ability to manipulate language and style in prose.

As part of a National Conversation, led by Writers’ Centre Norwich, Smith will be joined by writer and translator Daniel Hahn, writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo and translator Margaret Jull Costa. Smith will argue that without the injection of life brought by literary translation, contemporary writing may stagnate and decline.

Master literary craftswoman Smith is renowned for and has indeed been recognised as one of her generation’s leading authors: her most recent book, How to be Both, has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, whilst Hotel World and The Accidental were shortlisted for both the Orange and the Man Booker Prizes. Despite being an acknowledged master of the English language, and magician of word play, Smith will use this rare appearance (she abhors public speaking) to argue that we should not ignore the vast and varied enormity of talent and languages that make up the global library.

This looks set to be an energetic and thought provoking conversation on the importance of a global literary connection in general, and of exploration of international literature for the individual.