I was invited to speak recently to the students of a college Translation and Interpreting program. The professor explained to me that most students aim for interpreting careers, thinking that translation careers are rare, not lucrative, or otherwise not for them. I brought together a set of resources and questions to help students figure out if translation could be a career option for them and the outlook of the profession. In addition, over the past several years, students anticipating graduation and professionals contemplating career changes have come to me to learn more about the work I do and how to get started with similar work.
This month we have a Sufi love poem by Ibn Arabi, a chance to rest from your tasks and worries. This poem contains some of the most-quoted lines of poetry in Sufism and in anthologies of pre-modern Arabic literature. Usually only a few lines are included, as in these two examples:
My heart is capable of every form:
Pasture for deer, a monastery for monks,
Temple for idols, pigrim’s Ka’bah,
Our concept of seasons is formed in part by where we live. In Rhode Island, we had four fairly equal seasons (reflected in the lineup below). Since moving to Minnesota in 2022, our seasons and weather vary dramatically. Change, sometimes very fast, is key here. What do seasons mean to you? If your seasons differ from New England, adjust accordingly (for example, if you’re in New Zealand, reverse them for below suggestions).
A couple years ago, I was contacted by Sarah Cypher (pictured here), an editing colleague who is also an author. She was in the editing phase for her novel, The Skin and Its Girl (2023), and she was looking for a sensitivity/authenticity reader to help ensure that her book would be at its best before launching. She needed someone who could provide a subject matter (sensitivity) read regarding her representation of a fictional 1950s Palestinian-American family.
