Kat Storace on photography, memory, and translating Before the Rocket

Welcome to It’s Lit in Translation: the podcast that champions literature in translation and the people who make it possible.In today’s episode, Maltese editor and literary translator Kat Storace joins the pod to discuss her translation of Loranne Vella's Before The Rocket. Kat also dives into her work of bringing Maltese literature to English-language readers as the co-founder of Praspar Press.Kat takes us through her journey into literary translation, reflecting on the unexpected path that led her into the field and the mentorship that helped shape her career. We discuss the co-founding of Praspar Press and the importance of creating space for Maltese literature within the English-speaking publishing world, as well as the opportunities and challenges involved in representing a literary culture that remains largely undertranslated.We dive into her translation of Before the Rocket, a genre-defying novel set in Malta in 2064 that blends speculative fiction with dystopian storytelling. Kat shares her experience of translating a work deeply concerned with photography, memory, and time, discussing the challenge of rendering vivid photographic descriptions for readers despite the absence of any actual images within the text.Together, we explore the novel’s themes of climate change, colonialism, community resilience, and the relationship between images and storytelling. We also discuss the practical and creative decisions involved in translating Maltese literature into English, from preserving culturally specific language and place names to balancing accessibility with a strong sense of the novel’s Maltese identity.It is absolutely fascinating to hear Kat discuss the role translation plays in expanding access to underrepresented literary traditions, as well as the many considerations involved in bringing a distinctly Maltese story to an international readership.—You can purchase a copy of Before The Rocket by Loranne Vella, translated by Kat Storace, here: https://www.praspar.com/product/before-the-rocket—Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/Photo Credit: KT Bruce