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I was terribly chuffed to have been invited by the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) to moderate (virtually) a panel of three fascinating writers and literary translators, Ryad Assani-Razaki, Jinwoo Park and Leilei Chen 莫译 (muo-yee). It was my first panel moderation in Canada since relocating here last summer, and a great honour and pleasure for me. 60 minutes was not enough time to explore all the complexities of literary translation as a hidden art form, and as an invisible act of resistance, but it was nonetheless, an honest, warm and illuminating discussion with three passionate, dedicated and thoughtful writers. I hope the audience left convinced that they needed to engage in similar acts of resistance.
Read. Write. Translate. Repeat.
April 28, 2026
Translation as Resistance @ FOLD
If I can create a mirror for even one child in the world, I will have accomplished something meaningful
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"Maureen was agile, warm, brilliantly organized - a joy to speak with"
"I was stunned at how much time and thought she had put into preparing ...and then how spontaneous, fun and thoughtful she was as our conversations unfolded. Helping to organise the Hong Kong Literary Festival in 2023, Maureen was as professional, kind and engaging as any such host i've ever known, and as a writer herself - as well as so many other things - she brought more to our interactions than I had any reason to expect. "
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© Derek Shapton
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"She showed our senior elementary girls how refreshing it is to read stories where the contexts are relatable, and the characters look like them and carry some of the same emotions as they do. To be seen and heard in a diverse world is comforting.
Maureen’s hands-on techniques were engaging and facilitated meaningful interaction during the workshop. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the sessions.
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