The PTC returns to translate more Tamil poetry by Sugan, a Sri Lankan poet living in exile in Paris. Sugan was one of earliest and rare voices to question the centrality of war, authoritarianism, and violence at the heart of Tamil Nationalist thought and struggle. He has edited several volumes of dissent literature and Dalit criticism.
Previously we translated another poem by Sugan called Arrival that highlighted the poet's key themes, including his critical take on Sri Lankan poetry of war and trauma.
This is a great opportunity to experience the translation process first-hand and explore Tamil language and culture. It’s a great opportunity to develop your translation skills and meet like-minded language lovers.
There is no need to know Tamil to take part in this workshop. Everyone is welcome.
Poet Sugan
Sugan is a Sri Lankan Tamil poet/writer living in Paris, France. He was a key figure within the exiled Eelam Tamil dissent ‘little magazine’ culture of the late 80s and 90s. Published across several Tamil-language journals (that came out of the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Denmark, France and Canada) with very limited print run and private circulation, his poems remain difficult to find.
Guest translator Hari Rajaledchumy
Hari Rajaledchumy is an artist, writer, and poet based in London. She primarily works in installation, text, and poetry. Rajaledchumy was recently an artist associate at the studio-based Open School East programme. Her works have been published in Puthiya Sol (Sri Lanka), Sari Nihar (Sri Lanka), Manal Veedu (India) and Aakkaddi (France).
Poet-facilitator Chrissy Williams
Each season of PTC translation workshops is led by a poet, in this case we are delighted to be working with poet, editor and comic book writer Chrissy Williams. Her writing has been featured on BBC radio and television, and her full poetry collections are Bear (Bloodaxe, 2017) and Low (Bloodaxe, 2021). She edits the online poetry journal Perverse, and has run numerous workshops over the years. She has an Italian mother and English father, and was raised bilingually.
Pricing
Individual workshops cost £16 or £10 with concessions.
You can save 20% by getting a season pass for all four of this summer’s workshops.
A season pass costs £52 or £32 with concessions.
Concessions are for participants who are low-income, students, or pensioners. We do not ask for proof—just select this option on the booking page if you need it.
Getting to the Deptford Lounge
There are plenty of environmentally-friendly ways to get to the Deptford Lounge:
The venue is close to Deptford Station, Deptford Bridge Station on the DLR, and New Cross Station on the Overground line.
There are multiple bus routes serving the area, including the 171, 172, 177, 47, 53 and 453.
Plus, there are plenty of places to lock up your bike!
Community Standards
By translating poems together and sharing our responses we are becoming a small community. Everyone at each workshop will be a participant and should feel encouraged to speak up and share their thoughts, ideas and feelings. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bullying or harassment at our events and anyone displaying this behaviour will be asked to leave the event.
