Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún’s new book of poems starts from a colonial mistranslation of the Yorùbá deity Èṣù in 1843 as ‘Devil, Demon, Satan’ – a definition that changed the trajectory of that word through society, culture, and eventually through Google Translate. Join us to hear Kọ́lá read from the new book and discuss language, the representation of Yorùbá and other African languages in AI translation tools, travel writing, and the future of language in translation.
Visitors will be able to buy copies of the book and get them signed.
Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún is a Nigerian writer and linguist, publisher of OlongoAfrica. He’s the author of Edwardsville by Heart (2018), Ìgbà Èwe: Translated Poems of Emily R. Grosholz (2021), and the forthcoming Èṣù at the Library & Other Poems (2024). He is a Fulbright scholar (2009), Miles Morland Writing Fellow (2018), and Chevening Research Fellow at the British Library (2019/2020). His work has been published in African Writer, Aké Review, Brittle Paper, International Literary Quarterly, PEN Transmissions, Enkare Review, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Jalada, Popula, Saraba Magazine, World Literature Today, etc. He has translated the works of Chimamanda Adichie, Haruki Murakami, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Wole Soyinka, James Baldwin, Sarah Ladipo-Manyika, Cervantes, and others between English and Yorùbá. He’s the current Africa co-editor of Best Literary Translations an annual anthology of translations published by Deep Vellum in Texas. His work in language advocacy earned him the Premio Ostana Special Prize in Cuneo Italy in 2016. Túbọ̀sún’s documentary film Ebrohimie Road: A Museum of Memory premiered in July 2024 in venues around the world. He can be found at kolatubosun.com.
