Thursdays, February 5 to March 12th, 7-9pm Eastern Time
online; 8 students max
$300
Enrollment Opens Jan 1, 2026
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When reading international literature, we’re also reading the histories and cultures from a rich array of languages from across the world. Literary translation is an art that brings these books into cross-cultural conversations, creating not just visibility, but ideally, representation. What are the pathways like, breaking into the world of literary translation? How do we go from finding a book that speaks to us in another language, and eventually publishing the work and interacting with English-speaking audiences? How do we incorporate the concept of translation into our own creative works?
In class, we’ll do weekly readings that include essays about translations and excerpts of books translated from various languages, based on each week’s theme.
Starting from Week 2, we’ll workshop short translation practices or translation-in-progress from each student. This is a non-language-specific workshop and there is no limit with the genres to submit (poetry, hybrid works, graphic novels, and picture books are all very welcomed). Every translator will get to workshop once and have a 30-minute one-on-one meeting with me. If you are just starting a project, or already have a project in-progress, this is the workshop for you.
Note for previous students: If you have taken a translation workshop with me before, you might want to consider a new translation workshop I’m listing with Writing Co-Lab, which will bring you different themes and new materials to deepen your practices!
Week 1 On Literary Translation & International Literature
Week 2 Translating Voices & Consciousness
Week 3 Queering Translation & Translating Gender and Feminism
Week 4 Translating the Weird: On Strange and Surreal Narratives
Week 5 Experimentation in Translation- Hybrid, Poetry, and Graphic Novels
Week 6 Building Translation Communities
Enrollment opens January 1, 2026
About the Instructor
Jenna Tang is a Taiwanese writer and a translator who translates between Mandarin, French, Spanish, and English. Her translations and essays are published in The Paris Review, Lit Hub, Restless Books, Latin American Literature Today, AAWW, McSweeney’s, Catapult, Fare Magazine, and elsewhere. Her translations include works from Taiwanese feminist authors, Lin Yi-Han (Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise), Lâu Tsí-û (“Not Your Child”), Leah Yang, and more. She is currently working on books written in her disappearing dialect. She is a board-member at the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). She has given talks about translation, languages, and gender movements across 22 universities in the States, Canada, China, and Taiwan.
Student Testimonials
“I came to this class simply curious about translation on my own language journey as I navigate an intense career change, and learned so much from Jenna and our cohort about the industry and how translation is an art form. It’s really opened up my perspective on how I wish to continue my creative pursuits. The readings are spectacular, I had to find hard copies to finish them!” — previous Crossing—On Translated Literature student
"Jenna Tang is doing incredible and important work as a translator and writer. She is so generous and always opens the door for others. Her work challenges the status quo and creates a space for resonant stories and writers to find many audiences and communities across languages and borders. She helps us see what is possible in the literary world and how to find our way toward it. I can't think of anyone I'd rather learn from more!" — K-Ming Chang, writer
“Jenna Tang works tirelessly and generously to promote literature in translation and to build community within the translation sphere. As a translator from Taiwan now based in the US, she moves fluidly between the cultures she translates from and to, probing the bounds of the English language and seeking out voices who have hitherto not received sufficient attention.” — Jeremy Tiang, translator
“Jenna is a thoughtful translator and creative spirit who works from multiple lineages and myriad inspirations, toggling between the minutest of details and big-picture issues in a text with ease. Warm and inquisitive, she's committed to community in all senses and brings passion and energy to every one of her endeavors.” — Mike Fu, Literary Translator of Sanmao’s Stories of the Sahara
“Jenna made each one of us feel valued and comfortable during class. She was a fantastic teacher, genuinely enthusiastic about the subject. Her thoughtfully-prepared class discussions were directly applicable to my translation practice, and I am now a better translator because of it.” — Former Student