On the 11th and 12th of September a local meeting of the Ukrainian group took place. Participants not only had the opportunity to discuss the first version of their literary translations, but they also went sightseeing in the beautiful medieval city of Lviv and visited the 20th Lviv Book Forum.
We wanted to enjoy the famous coffeehouse atmosphere of the old city of Lviv and that’s why we decided to not hold our meetings in the rooms of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, but in the famous coffeehouses of the host city. On the first day (on the 11th of September) we drank coffee and hot chocolate in two coffeehouses (Kabinett and Dzyga) and discussed the first translations by Yuliya Mykytyuk (the short story „Die Übergabe“ [The Handover] by Silke Scheuermann) and by Valentyna Bilokrynytzka (an excerpt from the novel „Junges Licht“ [Young Light]by Ralf Rothmann). The second day we spent in the restaurant/cafe Akademitshne where Mykola Lipisivizkyj (an excerpt from the novel Hoppe by Felicitas Hoppe) and Olha Kravtchuk (an excerpt from the short story „Wo Europa anfängt“ [Where Europe Begins] by Yoko Tawada) presented their translations.
At the beginning all participants presented their works and revealed their reasons for selecting these particular texts, which was particularly interesting. Afterwards we discussed the exceedingly difficult spots for the translators and together we tried to find adequate solutions. The discussion was active and in my opinion also very productive and helpful. In this regard I would like to cordially thank Yurko Prokhasko, the workshop leader of our group, who was always open to all of our opinions and in conflicts always found a good solution. Our discussions were held in a good and friendly atmosphere which contributed to a favourable mood and productive working environment during the seminar.
In conclusion I would like to mention that in my opinion our meeting was very helpful for our translating skills as well as for the team spirit of the participants. For me it was a great honour to welcome the participants of the workshop in my home town and I very much look forward to our continuing meetings and discussions.
Impressions by the participant Yuliya Mykytyuk
Here are some photos.
