Small Country, Big Continent: Translating Gaël Faye's Burundi and Rwanda

Time and date

Wednesday 16 July 2025

Time

1:00 pm

Location

Share :

We are delighted to be teaming up with Literature Ireland to bring you this very special celebration of literary translation and the ways in which translators can bring us to new worlds. Gaël Faye is a Rwandan-French singer, songwriter, rapper, and writer and we are joined by two of the translators of Gaël’s award-winning novel Petit Pays which was inspired by his teenage-years' experience of the war in Burundi. It was first published in France in 2016, it has been translated into 36 languages and a film adaptation was released in 2020.

Sarah Ardizzone translated Petit Pays from French into English and it was published as Small Country by Hogarth Penguin in 2018.

Antain Mac Lochlainn translated Petit Pays from French into Irish and it was published as Tír Bheag by Barzaz, an imprint of Futa Fata, in October 2024.

Admission: Free

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of Literature Ireland and in that time they have funded the translation of over 2,500 works of Irish literature into 58 languages around the world. They help to bring the finest of Irish literature in the best possible literary translations to readers around the world, by awarding translation grants to publishers, by hosting literary translators in Ireland, and by representing Irish writers at international events, book fairs and festivals.

This event is supported by Literature Ireland

Literature Ireland logo white

Cover of Sarah Ardizzone's book "Small Country" Antain Mac Lochlainn jacket

Writers

Sarah Ardizzone

Sarah Ardizzone is an award-winning translator of voices from across the French-speaking world. Her work spans literary fiction for all ages, as well as memoir, hip-hop lyrics, graphic novels and picture books. Her time...

Antain Mac Lochlainn

Scríbhneoir agus aistritheoir is ea Antain Mac Lochlainn. Ar na saothair is déanaí leis, tá Éanna Corr (úrscéal do dhéagóirí) agus Tóraíocht na Dea-Bheatha (intreoir ar scoileanna fealsúnachta na Sean-Ghréige...