On Reading in Translation

One of the wonderful things about both writing and reading is they allow you to open yourself to new thoughts and experiences, to delve into the minds of other people, to immerse yourself in other cultures and fantastical worlds, and to truly discover how truth can be stranger than fiction. To write well, you must crawl into your character’s head space, and when reading a well-written book, you have the chance to do the same courtesy of another author’s efforts.

Ann Morgan recently set herself the task of taking her reading efforts to the next level by attempting to read a work in translation from every country in the world in a single year. At a time when there is so much discussion about representation and diversity in the publishing industry — and in the world at large — her self-set challenge feels appropriate and yet still impressive. Morgan shares both the joys and the difficulties of her year of reading the world in the following TED Talk.