William H. Matheson Lecture and Reception with Johannes Göransson: "In Defense of Mimicry: Poetry in Translation"

Johannes Göransson is an associate professor in the English Department at the University of Notre Dame.

In Defense of Mimicry: The real poet is original, the bad poet imitates. That's the story we've been told. The translator has been lumped in with the imitators. In this talk I will approach mimicry differently, finding in its excess a new direction for both poetry and translation, paying special attention to the work of Swedish underground icon Eva Kristina Olsson and her un-masterpiece The Angelgreen Sacrament.

Johannes Göransson is the author of eight books of poetry and criticism, most recently Poetry Against All (2020), and the translator of several books of poetry, including works by Aase Berg, Ann Jäderlund, Helena Boberg and Kim Yideum. His poems, translations and critical writings have appeared in a wide array of journals in the US and broad, including Fence, Lana Turner, Spoon River Review, Modern Poetry in Translation (UK), Kritiker (Denmark) and Lyrikvännen (Sweden). He is an associate professor in the English Department at the University of Notre Dame and, together with Joyelle McSweeney, edits Action Books.

This event is sponsored by Comparative Literature.

Brief reception with snacks and refreshments from 6:00—6:30 on the second floor landing near Duncker 101. The lecture will start at 6:30pm and conclude at 7:30pm.