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 THE JOI JOY 

The Center for Translation and Interpretation of the Contemporary Text
announces the creation of a monthly workshop for contemporary English and Romanian translation

The Joi Joy

The name of the center has been suggested by Mr. Sebastian Bican, one of the founding members of this workshop.
We meet every second Thursday of each month (6 p. m. – 8 p.m.) in the Council Room in Pitar Mos.
Our first meetings were dedicated to the outstanding Welsh poet Dannie Abse. The next meeting will discuss strategies of translating poet and musician Leonard Cohen’s work.

The best translations will be published on the site of the Center and will be entered in a contest whose winners will be announced and rewarded at the end of second semester.

We are looking forward to sharing our enthusiasm and love for literature in translation with everybody out there who wishes to join us.

Contact address: nadinavisan@yahoo.com


Students’ Comments on The Joi Joy:

They’re fresh. They’re hip. They’re the Joy Joyers! Come and meet them and the Goddess of Translation that they serve!
Ileana Grama (1st year student)

At first thought, translating seems serious business. A wonderful, but solitary activity. For the Visan sisters, translating, or more accurately, voicing their translations is a revel, a feast of words, the merriment of accomplished work. I feel grateful to them for letting me and all my colleagues know that translating is a wonderful pastime. The duo is just adorable and overwhelmingly catchy. Such an exquisite alchemy is there between them that English and Romanian words seem to exchange smiles. It was one warm December that we were again invited to the revels of contemporary poetry translation. The meeting place was the lavish Council Room, were Prof. Nadina Visan told us we were to post our work on a "netsite", as she famously put it. We were few, but or attempts at Dannie Abse's "Return to Cardiff" seemed worthwhile. There are two kinds of letting everyone know how your work is - the shy people and the ones who like to act out their work a little. I, for one, like to "celebrate myself, and sing myself", Whitman fashion. It occurred to me that I hadn't put too much thought into some of the more simple of poetic sequences. Be careful, all you students who like to show off a little, learn to be well prepared! The great ones start small. Eminescu would come to "Junimea" to read his own poems as if they weren't his. Let us learn from his modesty! Another important lesson that there is to learn from the adorable Visan duo is their ability to be fun as well as humble. Humble because they don't give the impression that their translation is saturated or unmistakable. For them, the act of translating a text seems more like a continuous search. And we are all invited to contribute.
Andrei Popa (1st year student)

Translators’ Forum:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/translationcafe/

Translators’ Review:
http://www.e-scoala.ro/ctitc/translation_cafe.html

For both, please contact LIDIA VIANU at lidiavianu@yahoo.com
Publication is one step away. Join us.