ArLiJo Women in Translation Issue, Aug. 2021

Published Translations

ArLiJo Women in Translation Issue, Aug. 2021

Chamini Kulathunga 3 years ago

The Arlington Literary Journal’s special Women in Translation issue edited by Hollynd Karapetkova.

There are treetops
of lofty proportions
that just breathe
lying parallel
entertaining less conversation
betraying no outward affection
not even competing
to get hold of the sun
Read the full translation of “Lofty Treetops” on ArLiJo

“Even within South Asia, Sri Lanka occupies a minority state in terms of both its geography and population. From a translator’s perspective, I couldn’t help but notice that the rate of Sri Lankan contemporary literature that is being circulated (in translation or in the original language/s) and read around the world is comparably lower than the national literatures of many other countries. It is also studied and anthologized much less often than other national literatures of the world. We talk about the infamous “3% factor” of annual literary translation publications in the US, but we’ve hardly ever seen or heard about a translation from the Sinhalese making it to the languages that contribute to that percentage, right”

-Interview with Project Plume