Saving Aramaic, a slam on poetry slams, and a literary love affair

What a busy week—two holidays! This week’s links look across the globe at recent happenings, including literature festivals and upcoming events. Enjoy!

News, Reviews, and Interviews

The University of Illinois now offers a masters program in translation studies, both online and on campus.

The very first Irrawaddy literary festival took place in Burma earlier this month.

CLT and WLT are proud to announce that Mo Yan’s Sandalwood Death made the cover of the New York Times Book Review! 

How does one go about saving a dying language? Ask Geoffrey Khan, whose current mission is to save Aramaic.

A recent article at the Independent slams poetry slams for not helping poetry survive. 

Fans of Michael Ondaatje will be delighted with this new video interview at 3200 Stories. 

You can now read the full transcript of this year’s Sebald Lecture, presented by Boris Akunin.

NPR has a book review of Woody Gurthie’s first novel, House of Earth, which is published by Johnny Depp’s HarperCollins imprint.

Pablo Neruda’s body will be exhumed for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death in 1973.

For Your Calendar

Asymptote, a quartlerly magazine for translators, currently needs help funding their future. Can you contribute?

Festival Neue Literatur has several upcoming literary events in NYC.

The Susan Sontag Prize for Translation is open for French translations!

Fun Finds and Inspiration

Don’t give up on your projects because they didn’t work out the first time—most success stories begin with failure.

Kelly McMasters surrounded herself with books this Valentine’s Day. You can read about her literary love affair at the Paris Review blog.