Ann Goldstein and Mary Norris

What’s it like to devote your whole working life to language, as a literary translator or as an editor?

In September, we’ll be joined from New York by two brilliant bilingual friends, both of whom have shaped the linguistic landscape in distinctive ways. Ann Goldstein and Mary Norris met as young copy editors at the New Yorker magazine. Norris went on to become a senior copy editor, revered as the magazine’s cult ‘Comma Queen’ grammarian and the author of two books about language, Between You & Me and Greek To Me. Meanwhile, until recently, Goldstein headed up the New Yorker‘s copy department and was the favourite editor of John Updike – and many others. She’s now perhaps best known as the translator of the acclaimed Italian novelist, Elena Ferrante.

In this wide-ranging conversation hosted by the Wheeler Centre’s new CEO, Caro Llewellyn, we’ll talk about the new (and overdue) enthusiasm for reading women authors and works in translation more broadly. Plus, we’ll talk language, friendship and Goldstein’s translation of Ferrante’s latest novel, The Lying Life of Adults.

Our online bookseller for this event will be Neighbourhood Books.

The Broadly Speaking series is proudly supported by Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and family.