Video interview with GLD Distinguished Speaker Philip Boehm

Those of you who attended the ATA 57th Annual Conference in San Francisco will surely remember the GLD’s guest speaker, Philip Boehm – a playwright, theater director and literary translator, among other things. He has received numerous grants and awards for his work over the years, including the ATA Ungar Award for his translation of A Woman in Berlin. And if you weren’t in San Francisco, here’s your chance to see a little of what you missed out on.

He conducted a preconference seminar on finding the voice in literary translation and two 60-minute sessions on translating for the stage and preserving foreignness in translation. We caught up with him after a long day for an interview conducted by our own Loie Feuerle. It took me quite a bit longer to finish editing the raw video than I had originally expected, but I think the result was worth the wait. Think of it as a blast from the past that will hopefully inspire you to attend the next conference to see what awaits you in Washington, D.C.

So without further ado… I hope you enjoy this fascinating conversation with a gracious and humble man who is at once a colleague, teacher, and inspiration for all of us translators and interpreters.