Welcome to PinT Book Club
PinT is a book club dedicated to Portuguese-language literature in English translation. We aim to promote contemporary literature of Portuguese-speaking countries and showcase the cultural diversity of our language. We organise online events to discuss contemporary literary fiction with authors, translators and their readers.
This idea came from a desire to contribute towards making Portuguese-language literature more accessible. Although Portuguese is the fourth most spoken language in the world, Portuguese-language literature is little known worldwide. Translations into English and financial support are scarce.
With PinT, we hope to help consolidate a network that encourages the translation of more Portuguese-language works and to expand its readership. Every two months, we will feature a novel by a Portuguese-language author in English translation, attended by the author and translator. Once a year, we'll discuss a classic work with the presence of the translator. The events are open to people anywhere in the world.
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
SHARA KRONMAL, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST & WRITER, CHICAGO US
I'VE LOVED ATTENDING THESE. IT IS GREAT TO DISCOVER BOOKS I WOULDN'T OTHERWISE READ AND TO HEAR FROM BOTH AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR.
ILZE DUARTE, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, CALIFORNIA US
I APPRECIATE HOW BALANCED THE SESSIONS ARE, ESPECIALLY THE TIME DEVOTED TO QUESTIONS FROMTHE ATTENDEES. THE SESSIONS ARE TRULY INTERACTIVE AND INFORMATIVE. THE CHOICE OF BOOKS IS ALSOCOMMENDABLE: THEY ARE FROM ALL REGIONS IN THE WORLD WHERE PORTUGUESE IS SPOKEN.
CLAIRE WILLIAMS, LECTURER AND RESEARCHER OF LITERATURE IN PORTUGUESE, TRANSLATOR, OXFORD UK
THE TEXTS YOU'VE CHOSEN HAVE BEEN SO INTERESTING, AND IT'S ALWAYS FASCINATING TO HEAR AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR DISCUSSING THEIR OWN VERSIONS; INTERSECTIONS, OVERLAPS, TRANSLATION CHALLENGES. SO FAR I'VE ATTENDED FOUR SESSIONS AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONES. I HAVE RECOMMENDED THE CLUB TO MY STUDENTS, WHO ARE LEARNING PORTUGUESE, AND STUDYING LUSOPHONE LITERATURE, BECAUSE THEY CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT A) THE WRITING PROCESS, B) THE TRANSLATION PROCESS, C) CULTURAL, HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS; PLUS THEY CAN ASK QUESTIONS. IT'S ALSO A NICE WAY OF FORMER STUDENTS KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH LUSOPHONE LITERATURE. THE ORGANISERS ARE EXCELLENT AT INTRODUCING THE NOVELS AND THE PARTICIPANTS, AND THEY RAISE INTERESTING QUESTIONS WHICH SPARK OFF THOUGHT-PROVOKING DISCUSSION. IT'S ALSO AGREAT WAY OF SHARING THE BEAUTY AND RICHNESS OF LUSOPHONE LITERATURE WITH THOSE WHO DON'TSPEAK PORTUGUESE.
VICTOR MEADOWCROFT, TRANSLATOR, CHAIR OF THE PORTUGUESE-ENGLISH LITERARY TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION, BRIGHTON UK
OVER THE TWO YEARS IT HAS BEEN RUNNING, THE PORTUGUESE IN TRANSLATION BOOK CLUB (PINT) HAS BEEN A UNIQUE RESOURCE FOR THE PROMOTION OF PORTUGUESE-LANGUAGE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION. AS CHAIR OF THE PORTUGUESE-ENGLISH LITERARY TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION, I HAVE BEEN DELIGHTED TO SEE SOME OF OUR MEMBERS FIND NEW AUDIENCES FOR THEIR TRANSLATIONS BY APPEARING ON THE PINT READING LIST, AND HAVE ALSO ENJOYED ATTENDING THE FASCINATING ONLINE DISCUSSIONS,OFTEN FEATURING AUTHORS WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE UNABLE TO HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH THEIR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE READERSHIPS. WITHOUT PINT, OUR TRANSLATORS WOULD BE FORCED TO RELY ON THE HANDFUL OF NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS THAT REVIEW AND PROMOTE TRANSLATED LITERATURE, AND THE CHANCES OF A BOOK ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN PORTUGUESE LANDING IN THE HANDS OF AN ENGLISH-SPEAKING READER WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED. PINT HAS BEEN A BREATH OF FRESH AIR!
JETHRO SOUTAR, INVITED TRANSLATOR FOR THE PINT BOOK CLUB 8TH SESSION, SETUBAL PORTUGAL
IT WAS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO BE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN PINT. FOR A START, TRANSLATORS ARE NOT OFTEN PAID MUCH ATTENTION LET ALONE AFFORDED EQUAL BILLING WITH THE AUTHOR. HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THE BOOK AND THE CHALLENGES OF TRANSLATING IT WITH AN INFORMED AUDIENCE - SOME OF THEM TRANSLATORS BUT MANY OF WHOM HAVE SIMPLY HAD THEIR INTEREST NURTURED THROUGH PARTICIPATION IN THE CLUB - WAS A RARE PLEASURE.
THE BOOK WE DISCUSSED, THE ULTIMATE TRAGEDY, CAME OUT IN TRANSLATION IN 2017. OFTEN A BOOK WILL GENERATE A BIT OF PUBLICITY WHEN IT COMES OUT AND THEN SLIP OFF THE RADAR, BUT THE INTEREST GENERATED BY PINT GAVE THE BOOK A NEW LEASE OF LIFE AND ENABLED THE PUBLISHER TO GO AHEAD WITH A REPRINT. FOR A SMALL PUBLISHER SEEKING TO DO BOLD THINGS - THIS WAS THE FIRST EVER BOOK FROM GUINEA BISSAU TO BE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH - AN ENDORSEMENT LIKE PINT'S CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
