Director of Literature Across Frontiers speaks at a major European conference on literary translation in Strasbourg
Alexandra Büchler, Director of Literature Across Frontiers (LAF) and strategic co-director of Wales Literature Exchange (WLE), recently delivered a speech at a landmark conference held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg from 2-4 October 2024.
LAF and WLE are two long-standing initiatives based at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, fostering international literary collaboration, promoting writing from Wales and supporting its translation.
The conference brought together all the key players in the field of European literary translation with officials from the European Commission and The European Executive Education and Culture Agency in charge of support for the circulation of literature and literary professionals, with 300 attending in in-person and over 1500 following the proceedings online. Alexandra Büchler represented the ENLIT European Network for Literary Translation, where she serves on the board, and highlighted the power of networks in cultural development. Reflecting on her participation, she said:
“I was honoured to speak on behalf of ENLIT, a network co-founded by Literature Across Frontiers, which now unites 30 organisations from across Europe. My contribution to the conference emphasised the importance of our continuous efforts to remain part of the European literary scene and networks, despite the UK’s departure from the EU which denied us access to European sources of funding with disastrous consequences at a time of arts and culture budget cuts. We continue to initiate and support exchange and collaboration projects that offer particularly emerging writers from Wales opportunities to connect with their European peers and attend literary festivals and other events.”
Professor Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, director of the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic studies said: “Networking with European colleagues is essential for our cultural development and we are active in several key networks, including ENLIT, ELEN (European Language Equality Network ), Culture Action Europe and the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism.”
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Contact: Alexandra Büchler: alexandra@lit-across-frontiers.org
- LAF and WLE are based at the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales, adjacent to the National Library, and is part of University of Wales Trinity Saint David. The activities of LAF and WLE are supported by the Arts Council of Wales and other funders.
- The Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS) was established by the University of Wales in 1985 as a dedicated research centre conducting team-based projects on the languages, literatures, culture and history of Wales and the other Celtic countries. It is located in Aberystwyth, adjacent to the National Library of Wales, which is an internationally- renowned copyright library with excellent research facilities.
- CAWCS offers unique opportunities for postgraduate students to work alongside specialists in a dynamic and supportive environment. We welcome enquiries about MPhil/PhD topics in any of our research areas. For more information about research opportunities, or for an informal chat about possible topics, contact our Head of Graduate Studies, Dr Elizabeth Edwards: e.edwards@wales.ac.uk
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