Translating Hebrew, Translating Israel with Jessica Cohen

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Jessica Cohen has translated the work of many major Israeli writers, including Amos Oz, Dorit Rabinyan, Ronit Matalon, and Etgar Keret. In 2017 she shared the prestigious Man Booker International Prize with David Grossman for her translation of the novel A Horse Walks Into a Bar. In this conversation with Library Director Howard Freedman, Cohen will address issues of cultural translation that arise as she turns a Hebrew work published in Israel into a text that will circulate globally in English translation.

Jessica Cohen was born in England and raised in Israel, and now lives in Denver. She translates contemporary Israeli prose, poetry, and other creative work. She is a past board member of the American Literary Translators Association and has served as a judge for the National Translation Award. Her most recent translations include Agur Schiff’s Professor Schiff’s Guilt; Noa Yedlin’s Stockholm; Maya Arad’s The Hebrew Teacher; and David Grossman’s children’s book Every Wrinkle Has a Story.