Translation Prizes

Three pupils have been recognised in a national translation competition.

Congratulations to Talia in Year 11 – winner of the Stephen Spender Prize, a poetry translation competition which aims to open people’s minds to unfamiliar languages and celebrate dialogue between cultures.  Talia’s submission, My Impressions of an Evening, was one of three winning entries in the Youth Prize Under 16 category, each awarded £100. Talia is currently studying Classical Greek, German and Latin at GCSE, but chose an Italian poem to translate, inspired by her Italian grandmother.  Her translated poem will feature in the 2022 Stephen Spender prize booklet and on the trust’s website.

Ria in Year 10 was highly commended for her translation from Urdu, The Desire for Revolution, and Amelia in Year 9 was commended in the ‘Romanian Spotlight’ category, a special strand of the prize aiming to shine a light on community languages.  All three poets were recognised at a special online ceremony last night.

The Stephen Spender Trust was established in 1997 to honour the poet’s achievements as a translator and cultural activist; founding members included Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Czesław Miłosz and Harold Pinter. This year’s prize attracted a record number of entries, translated from 90 different languages.