About
I am a Polish to English translator, literary scholar, writer, and educator.
Education
I recently finished my PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University.
I went to McGill University for undergrad. I’ve also studied at Middlebury College, the University of Warsaw, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In addition to English, I speak Polish, French, and Russian.
Research
My dissertation examines the process by which regional memory is transformed from a personal and family experience into nationally legible and marketable narratives. Taking the hotly contested region of Upper Silesia as a case study, my project illuminates the workings of the national and global book markets, as well as the influence of the shifting media landscapes on contemporary prose and criticism. My article on regional realism will come out in Industrial Regions in Transition: Upper Silesia, the Donbas, and Beyond with Anthem Press (forthcoming).
I’ve also been working on two other research projects. Last summer, I traveled to Panna Maria, Texas, to research the Polish and Silesian settlements that date back to the 19th century. I am interested in the community’s identity, as well as how contemporary Polish authors have drawn inspiration from European regional cultures placed against the backdrop of the American frontier.
I likewise research a forgotten figure of the interwar literary scene, Irena Krzywicka.
Translation
I cut my teeth in the Emerging Translator Mentorship in Polish with the NCW, the Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference, and the BCLT Summer School. I tend to work on fiction, nonfiction (including diaries), and academic writing, but I am open to proposals.
My work has appeared in The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories, Two Lines Journal, Asymptote, Przekładaniec, The New Books from Poland Catalogue, conference presentations and lectures, an audio reportage, and a forthcoming anthology: The Tender Translator: Olga Tokarczuk Across Languages (forthcoming).
My book-length translation of Jerzy Pilch’s Spis cudzołożnic, co-authored with Antonia Lloyd-Jones, is being published by Open Letter Books.
Thank you
My projects have been supported by dear mentors and cultural institutions like ALTA, NCW, and the Polish Book Institute (IK).
I also gained a tremendous amount from academic organizations and additional grants, including the Jurzykowski Fund, the Frederick Sheldon Traveling Fellowship, the Svetlana Boym Prize, and additional funding from the Middlebury School of Russian.
For a loose string of (small) English words to somehow come out of me, I’d need a few shots of indomitable Albanian brandy, but for now there wasn’t a shadow of that anywhere. Still, not wanting to look like a complete bumpkin or a mute, I beckoned the Swedish Scholar to the door with one hand while drawing an outline of Kraków in the air with the other. It must’ve made quite a dramatic impression on him, because this time, with a firm and unerring gesture, he reached into his pocket and handed me a pack of American cigarettes.
Jerzy Pilch, Spis Cudzołożnic
When I was a kid, I loved hearing my grandma’s stories about growing up in a Polish diaspora community in Central Wisconsin. In a way, my academic and creative work can be traced back to the tales of immigrants from a handful of villages in Greater Poland (now suburbs of Poznań).
I am currently being hosted by the Polish Book Institute in Kraków as part of their Translator’s Collegium. This generous program has afforded me the time and the means to work on my translation projects, just as it allows me to imbibe Kraków’s artistic and literary atmosphere and make new connections. Right now, I’m finishing up edits on the Pilch project and moving forward on a new translation of Witkacy’s Pożegnanie jesieni (!). Otherwise, you might find me at Kino Pod Baranami or exploring the city.
I greatly enjoyed this year’s World Congress of Polish Literary Translators at ICE, Kraków. It was such a pleasure and a privilege to meet with X > Polish translators from all over the world. See you again in 2030!
Edited by Antonia Lloyd-Jones,The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories is a treasure trove of great stories, including „Life and Love in the Hen House” by Irena Krzywicka (and translated by me). I recommend reading the whole collection, alongside generous reviews by Larry Wolff in TLS and Agnieszka Dale in LARB. Thank you to Wojciech Szot for the shout out in Wyborcza! Antonia gives a glimpse of the selection process in culture.pl.
jessjensenmitchell.com 