Ani Gjika is an Albanian-born writer and literary translator, author of eight books and chapbooks of poetry. Her translation of Luljeta Lleshanaku’s Negative Space (2018) was shortlisted for the International Griffin Poetry Prize. She’s a recipient of several awards and fellowships including the US National Endowment for the Arts, English PEN, the Robert Pinsky Global Fellowship and, most recently, Restless Books’ 2021 Prize for New Immigrant Writing.

In this conversation with host Suzana Vuljevic, she discusses Albanian to English literary translation, and the translator’s role in making legible and advocating for “minor” cultures and languages in the global literary arena.

This conversation took place on 30 April 2022 as part of the Hidai "Eddie" Bregu Lectures in Albanian Studies, connected with the DePaul Albanian Studies and the Certificate Undergraduate Program of Albanian and Southeastern European Studies at DePaul University – and is re-presented with permission here.