In the flesh: come and witness the first physical meeting of the Weather in Translation creators!

On Thursday 29 September the Senate House Library will play host to a round table, “Weather in Translation”. The round table will feature the first physical meeting of the creators of A Thousand Words for Weather, including writer Jessica J. Lee with poets Izdihar Alodhami, Leo Boix, Iris Colomb, Marta Dziurosz, Nikhat Hoque, Ayça Turkoglu and sound artist Claudia Molitor.

Reflecting on our ability to share experiences across languages and media, the translators will discuss the process and meaning of translation not just between languages, but also between art forms, focussing on word, sound, and space. 

This panel will put the creative contributors of A Thousand Words for Weather in a lively, in-person exchange for the first time, offering a rare opportunity to delve into how each sought to reimagine the weather words for their own language or medium.

Writer Jessica J Lee - Winner of the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature, and the Banff Mountain Book Award for Adventure Travel – explains the concept behind the event.

“Weather in Translation, Time, Place, and Sound is going to be the first time the project's creators will be gathered together. After two years of work to bring A Thousand Words for Weather to life, I'm delighted that we'll finally have an opportunity to discuss the project's resonances and backstory together.

"One thing I'm really excited to explore is the way working remotely really transformed how we saw collaboration: Much of A Thousand Words for Weather was created during periods of lockdown during the pandemic, a time when connection took on new, different meanings. 

"We were more connected digitally, perhaps found new forms of living with the natural world around us, and that invited us to really think about weather and climate in ways we perhaps hadn't before. But we often didn't have the opportunity to work face-to-face. Somehow we created something so visceral, so bodily, despite the distance. 

"This roundtable will add a new dimension to that process: a way to unpack the work we've created together, to experience it in a collective way, and to share the strange joy of the whole project with the audience.”

See how to attend Weather in Translation.