Stories in Translation

Join us for an evening of multilingual poetry and storytelling hosted by Maja Irene Bolier.

This poetry and storytelling event invites people to recite in their own language. It begins from the belief that words can move you even when you cannot understand what is being said. The audience is invited to practice deep listening, to feel the emotions under the words before they are translated and made clear.

The event aims to create a safe space where people can recite from the heart and share parts of themselves. Our stories make us who we are; they are how we learn from one another. They do not always have to be understood to be shared.

Maja Irene Bolier is a visual artist, writer, and artist-educator currently researching the meaning of losing a language while gaining another, and looking at translation as a collaborative act.

Maja has been working with multilingual individuals through a series of writing, collage, and bookmaking workshops at A Beautiful Mess Arnhem. During this event, they will read the pieces developed through this process, and afterwards, other multilingual poets will take the stage.

Can you hear the heart in a language you don’t understand? We are going to find out!