Allison Grimaldi Donahue

What a wild couple of weeks. It was an honor to be on a panel about translation and love with such wonderful co-panelists. We reached from heartbreak to mother tongue(s) to Jean-Luc Nancy and beyond at the American Literary Translators’ Conference 41st Meeting in Indianapolis. I read a piece of a new translation of Patrizia Vicinelli’s work.

(Left to right Lida Nostrati, Nicholas Glastonbury, me, Jacqui Cornetta, Kira Josefsson photo: María José Giminez)

From there it was off to my alma mater Middlebury College to teach a short course on translation for the theater with my collaborator Nerina Cocchi. We were hosted by the Italian Department for a series of workshops, talks, lectures and a performance. Thanks to Stefano Mula and Sandra Carletti especially.

(Middlebury College, Vermont)

Last but not least on this whirlwind adventure was being a guest critic for colleague and friend Marco Palmieri at Cornell University’s Rome campus. We talked about art writing, blending and crossing genre and form and how hobbies and become full on practices. We then headed over to the French Academy at Villa Medici to look at work by Etel Adnan, Jean Genet, Federico Fellini, Victor Hugo and many many more.

(Etel Adnan, painting)